Following the landmark Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education , which outlawed segregation in public schools, Evers applied for admission to the University of Mississippi Law School, but his application was denied. In the early s, he organized high-profile boycotts of merchants in Jackson.
In , he played an instrumental role in the campaign to have African American student James Meredith admitted to the University of Mississippi.
And she made valuable contributions to the Civil Rights Movement in her own right as a helpmate, researcher for speeches, hostess, chauffeur, and musician. By this time, threats on his life were a regular occurrence, with the Evers name featured prominently on many white supremacist death lists.
Nevertheless, Evers remained completely absorbed in the struggle for freedom. His workday often lasted up to twenty hours, consisting of organizing boycotts, marches, prayer vigils, and bailing out those who had been arrested. In early , the Evers home was firebombed. A few weeks later, on June 12, , President John F.
Bill to attend Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College now Alcorn State University , where he thrived as a campus leader and student-athlete. After his application was rejected, Evers considered suing for admission but ultimately decided against further action. Representatives from the national NAACP, which counseled Evers as his application was pending, were so impressed by the young activist that they recommended the organization hire Evers as their first Mississippi Field Secretary.
It was in this role that Medgar Evers truly made his most lasting contributions to the movement. He investigated dozens of cases of racial violence and discrimination, including the murders of Emmett Till, George Lee, J. Evers also collected affidavits from Black Mississippians who had been denied the right to vote and helped prepare several voting rights activists to testify in front of Congress during hearings related to the legislation that would eventually lead to the Civil Rights Acts of and His death was mourned by the entire African American community in the state and beyond.
As a sign of respect to this fallen hero, over 6, people embarked on a march from the Masonic Temple to the Collins Funeral Home on North Farish Street.
His funeral procession was attended by civil rights titans such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And because of his service in the U. Army, he was given full military honors in front of over 3, mourners. After the assassination of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, the District Attorney Office, led by Bill Waller, opened an investigation into the murder.
The white supremacist was put on trial in the following months. The all-white juries were hung on the trial and declared a mistrial, allowing De La Beckwith walk out of the court a free man.
After a whopping three decades since the death of Evers, the prosecutors, led by Bobby DeLaughter, found new evidence to proceed with a new trial of De La Beckwith.
De La Beckwith died on January 21, while serving his life sentence in prison. Medgar Evers quotes. October 15, November 17, July 16, Your email address will not be published.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Meet Medgar Evers. By Teaching for Change. Below are links to the Veterans of the Southern Freedom Movement and other websites with descriptions of some key organizing and advocacy efforts by Medgar Evers. These provide an introduction to the wide range of issues and tactics addressed by Medgar Evers and the southern freedom movement at the time.
George Lee. It remained a cold case, however, it received more attention than it would have otherwise thanks to the brave work of Evers. He also helped secretly secure witnesses for the case. Evers himself had been denied admission to Ole Miss law school in Jackson, Mississippi Boycotts of : These include boycotts of the segregated county fair and business district. Medgar Evers: An Unsung Hero. Directed by Michael Cory Davis. It is too long for classroom use, however, it provides useful background information for teachers and clips of the interviews could be shared with students.
She fought for decades to gain justice in the assassination Medgar Evers, worked tirelessly for civil rights, ran for political office, and from , served as chair of the NAACP.
She is currently serving as a distinguished scholar-in-residence at Alcorn State University and directing the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute. I would like to meet with Ms. I still have a lot to tell and things I want to tell her truth must not be held back. We must tell history as we have lived it. Peggy Morgan. I was born ten days after he was assasinated. I was named in his honor as I have tried to live my life in his honor. Ieven attend Alcorn State to learn as much as I could.
I had an instructor Dr. Alpha Morris who was one of his classmates and I picked her brain as much as I could. I have met Myrlie Evers-Williams three times in my life and I have three books she has written all autographed by her. His father was Houston Wells the neighbor who fired his shotgun that night and drove Medgar Evers to the hospital in his station wagon. My friend Medgar told me this story and then I saw a video with Mrs.
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