Isn’t it amazing how so many people that have come and gone from this world have made a significant impact on thousands of lives, and most of us these days don’t even know that they existed, let alone what they accomplished?Well, while looking for people of interest that have been assassinated over the years (for this history blog) I have come across the infamous assassination of Medgar Evers, who was a renown civil rights activist from Mississippi. I was curious about this man because I had never heard of him, yet the articles about him state that he was very famous in his time. Here is what little I could find about himMedgar Evers was born on July 2, 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi. His parents were Jessie and James Evers. Medgar was the fourth of six children. They were a happy family and lived together until Medgar dropped out of 10th grade and joined the army with his brother. Medgar was soon shipped out to fight and aide the Allies in WWII. Medgar toured in France. He was discharged in 1945 as a Sergeant, and one year later, returned home with his brother. Both were lucky enough to make it through the war without harm. In 1948, young Medgar went to Alcorn State University to major in “business administration”. In college, he was on the debate team, particioated in football, track, sang in the school choir, and served as president of his junior class. He married his classmate sweetheart Myrlie Beasley on December 24, 1951, and attained his degree the next year. Together, they had three children; two boys and a girl.They moved to Bayou Mississippi, and Medgar got a job selling insurance. Before long, Medgar was recruited by the NAACP to help coordinate rallies, make bumper stickers, and so on for Civil Rights. A few years past, and so came the Brown vs. Board of Education case, which ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. With that hope, Medgar applied to the University of Mississippi School of Law, which was still segregated. He was denied. Medgar then became the rallying point for NAACP activists.Medgar became the Secretary for the NAACP, and spent the next several years promoting Civil Rights. Medgar quickly made himself a public enemy of the KKK, and White Activist groups. His home and car were bombed more than once, and his family was in constant danger. He was nearly run on the sidewalk after leaving the NAACP building. Five days later, Medgar was leaving his car to go into his home and was shot in the back right in his driveway. He died less than an hour later. The date was June 12, 1963.He was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, and several thousand people attended his funeral. On June 23, 1964, Byron De La Beckwith, a fertilizer salesman and member of the White Citizens' Council and Ku Klux Klan, was arrested for Evers' murder. During the course of his first trial in 1964, De La Beckwith was visited by former Mississippi governor Ross Barnett. De La Beckwith was met with complete support by the white community, and in both trials, was declared innocent by the all-white jury.Medgar’s family moved to Califoria for protection. Thirty years later, in 1994, De La Beckwith was again brought to trial based on new evidence. During the trial, Evers’s was exhumed from his grave for autopsy. His body was till in great condition. De La Beckwith was convicted of murder on February 5, 1994, after having lived as a free man for the three decades following the killing. De La Beckwith appealed unsuccessfully, and died in prison in January 2001.I still cannot quite believe how many people don’t know about Medgar Evers. I asked my parents, and they didn’t even know. He was obvisously well known, yet was unable to reach the status of Dr. King, which is somewhat a shame.
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