March 26, 2025 Story by: Editor
Medgar Evers dedicated his life to fighting racial injustice in the segregated South. He actively opposed discriminatory Jim Crow laws, challenged segregation in education, and played a key role in investigating the lynching of Emmett Till. Beyond his activism, Evers became the first field officer for the NAACP in Mississippi, working tirelessly to advance civil rights.
A Soldier Turned Activist
Evers’ path to civil rights activism was shaped by a personal experience of racial discrimination. After returning from serving in World War II, where he fought in the Battle of Normandy, he and five friends attempted to vote in a local election. They were met with armed resistance and turned away at gunpoint. This moment underscored for Evers that his service to the country had not earned him equal rights at home.
Determined to challenge injustice, he pursued higher education at Alcorn State University, a historically Black college in Mississippi. Following graduation, he worked as a life insurance salesman in Mound Bayou, a predominantly Black town. During this time, he also became president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL). Under his leadership, the organization launched a boycott against gas stations that refused Black patrons access to restrooms. Bumper stickers with the slogan “Don’t Buy Gas Where You Can’t Use the Restroom” spread widely, and the group’s annual conferences between 1952 and 1954 drew tens of thousands of participants.
Fighting for Desegregation
Evers intensified his efforts against segregation after being denied admission to the University of Mississippi Law School solely because of his race. His fight coincided with the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared school segregation unconstitutional. Though his personal application was rejected, his advocacy contributed to the eventual enrollment of James Meredith at the university in 1962.
As the NAACP’s first field officer in Mississippi, Evers worked to expand the organization’s influence. He established new local chapters, spearheaded voter registration drives, and led protests aimed at desegregating public schools, parks, and Mississippi’s Gulf Coast beaches.
Facing Violence and Assassination
Evers’ activism made him a target of white supremacists, especially after his involvement in high-profile cases. He played a significant role in investigating the 1955 lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till and publicly spoke out against the wrongful conviction of Clyde Kennard, a Black activist framed for crimes he did not commit. These efforts put Evers in grave danger.
He survived multiple assassination attempts before being fatally shot on June 12, 1963. As he arrived home and stepped out of his car carrying NAACP T-shirts emblazoned with “Jim Crow Must Go,” a bullet struck him in the back. He succumbed to his injuries less than an hour later at a local hospital. His murder occurred just hours after President John F. Kennedy delivered a televised speech advocating for civil rights.
The man responsible for his assassination, Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was arrested but remained free after two all-white juries failed to convict him. Justice was delayed for three decades until De La Beckwith was finally convicted in 1994 and sentenced to prison in his 70s.
A Lasting Legacy
Evers was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, with over 3,000 mourners in attendance. His death and the prolonged struggle for justice inspired numerous songs, including Bob Dylan’s “Only a Pawn in Their Game” and Phil Ochs’ “Too Many Martyrs” and “Another Country.” The 1996 film The Ghosts of Mississippi, starring Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg, portrayed the legal battle to finally convict De La Beckwith.
His legacy lived on through his family. His wife, Myrlie Evers-Williams, became a prominent civil rights leader and later served as chairwoman of the NAACP from 1995 to 1998. His brother, Charles Evers, also continued the fight for racial equality, ensuring that Medgar Evers’ contributions to the civil rights movement would never be forgotten. Source: NAACP
