Evers, Medgar

July 2, 1925
June 12, 1963

The civil rights activist Medgar Wylie Evers was born in Decatur, Mississippi, served in World War II, graduated

from Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, and became an insurance agent. Refused admission to the University of Mississippi's law school, he became the first Mississippi field director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Evers's job entailed investigating the murders of blacks in Mississippi, including that of Emmett Till; local police generally dismissed such cases as accidents. A clear target for violence, Evers bought a car big enough to resist being forced off the road, roomy enough to sleep in where motels were segregated, and powerful enough for quick escapes. His family owned guns and kept the window blinds drawn. Evers received daily death threats but always tried reasoning with callers.

He led voter registration drives and fought segregation; organized consumer boycotts to integrate Leake County schools and the Mississippi State Fair; assisted James Meredith in entering the University of Mississippi; and won a lawsuit integrating Jackson's privately owned buses. He also began a similar effort with Jackson's public parks.

In May 1963, Evers's house was bombed. At a June NAACP rally he declared, "Freedom has never been free. … I would die, and die gladly, if that would make a better life for [my family]."

On June 12, Evers arrived home in the middle of the night. His wife heard his car door slam, then heard gunshots. He died that night; his accused murderer was acquitted, despite compelling evidence against him. Evers was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

See also Civil Rights Movement, U.S.; Meredith, James H.; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Till, Emmett Louis

Bibliography

Evers, Myrlie, with William Peters. For Us, the Living. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1967.

Morris, Willie. The Ghosts of Medgar Evers: A Tale of Race, Murder, Mississippi, and Hollywood. New York: Random House, 1998.

Wilbert, Lauren. "Medgar Evers' Death Commemorated at Arlington Cemetary." Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, June 16, 2003, p. K5684.

Williams, Juan. Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954–1965. New York: Viking, 1987.

elizabeth fortson arroyo (1996)
Updated bibliography