His name was Medgar Evers
Hello class.
Today I have a biography of a great civil
rights leader for you.
His name was Medgar Evers.
Medgar was born on July 2,1925 in Mississippi.
He was murdered in front of his own home on
Jun 12, 1963 at only 37 years old.
Medgar was in the US Army during world war
2.
He was a part of a segregated unit, the 325th
Port Company, that participated in the D – day
invasion.
After being honorably discharged Medgar went
on to attend Alcorn College on the GI bill.
He majored in business administration.
He competed on the debate team, played football
and track teams while singing in the choir
and becoming the junior class president.
After college Medgar became and insurance
agent and the first field secretary for the
NAACP after attempting to enroll in the University
of Mississippi law school but was denied due
to his race.
This was the same year, 1954 as Brown vs.
the Board of Education and segregation in
public schools had been determined as unconstitutional.
Medgar met and married Myrlie in 1951.
She would go on to carry his legacy after
his murder in 1963.
Medgar participated in and help spread the
word about the gas boycott in 1952.
Gas stations would allow blacks to purchase
gas but not use their bathrooms.
That is why the boycott used the phrase “Don’t
buy gas where you can’t use the bathroom.”
Medgar helped integrate the University of
Mississippi law school in 1962 by assisting
James Meredith with his enrollment.
Medgar and his family moved to Jackson, MS
in 1954.
Medgars first assignment as the NAACP field
secretary was to investigate the murder of
Emmett Till.
The 14-year-old boy who was visiting Mississippi
and was kidnapped by a group of white men.
His body was found days later in a nearby
river.
Why was Emmett Till murdered?
Supposedly it was because he had the audacity
to talk to a white woman.
Medgar with two other field secretaries convinced
witnesses that they could protect them, and
these witnesses testified at the 1955 trial
of two white men accused of killing Emmett.
After the not guilty verdict Medgar got the
witnesses out of town safely.
However, the trial had brought the attention
on to the south and the plight of blacks.
It showed the rest of the country and the
world what was happening to blacks in the
south.
It also brought Medgar into the spotlight.
Leading up to his death in 1963 there were
multiple attempts on his life.
On June 12, 1963 President Kennedy gave his
landmark civil rights speech and just hours
later Medgar was shot outside his home in
Jackson, MS.
He had been shot through the heart, fell,
got up and managed to stumble another 30 feet
before collapsing again.
He was taken to a local hospital who at first
refused to admit him due to his race.
Once his wife explained who he was he became
the first black person admitted to the local
hospital.
Medgar survived for less than an hour before
succumbing to his injuries.
Medgar was buried on June 19, with full military
honors in Arlington Cemetery.
Thousands marched silently through the streets
of Jackson on the day of his funeral.
After Medgar was shot down in his driveway
a man named Byron De La Beckwith was arrested
for the murder.
However, due to an all-white, all-male jury
the trial ended in a deadlock in 1964.
This sparked national protest and Byron De
La Beckwith was tried again.
However, when the second all white all male
jury could not come to a decision De La Beckwith
was set free.
It took 3 decades for the state of Mississippi
to bring charges again against Byron De La
Beckwith.
In 1994, a mixed-race jury found Beckwith
guilty of murder.
Byron De La Beckwith was given a life sentence.
He died in 2001 an unrepentant white segregationist.
Mylie Evers was instrumental in bringing her
husband killer to justice.
She was also an active civil rights activist
throughout the rest of her life.
She rebuilt her life after Medgar death by
moving the family to California.
She spoke on behalf of NAACP and wrote magazine
articles.
Eventually Myrlie remarried and became the
chairperson of the board of directors for
the NAACP in 1995.
She was also named Women of the Year by Ms.
Magazine.
She is a published author and carries on Medgar’s
legacy today.
Their home in Jackson Mississippi has been
preserved and is designated a National Monument.
The bullet hole can still be seen in his kitchen.
It has been restored with Myrlies book collection,
artwork and original furniture.
Although, I am not sure with Coronavirus if
visiting is possible, during normal times
the house is open to the public by appointment
only.
