Medgar Evers

"Freedom has never been free...I love my children and I love my wife with all my heart. And I would die, die gladly, if that would make a better life for them." - Medgar Evers

Medgar Evers was a leader who didn't care for fame or money—the "quiet integrationist" he was called. He wanted to make a difference and improve the lives of others. As his wife described him, he was sensitive "to other human beings; their needs, hopes, joys, and aspirations...Perhaps most important, Medgar was able to turn hate into love."

As a child, Medgar was studious, shy, and "the conscience of his friends." Among the qualities and experiences he took from his parents, it was their outspoken nature, especially regarding their convictions, that Medgar adopted. 

At 18, Medgar joined the U.S. Army and fought from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. After the war, he went to college and then started a family. While his family was most important, his work for the NAACP during the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s and early 1960s became his calling. As the Field Secretary for the organization in Mississippi, he helped organize boycotts and set up local NAACP chapters.

One of Medgar's struggles throughout these years was living daily with fear. He was afraid for his life because of his position in the movement. As his wife recalled,

"We lived with that fear day in and day out. We learned to deal with the threatening telephone calls. We lived with the cars that circled our home late at night. We lived with the rocks and debris thrown at us. We talked about the possibility of death many times."

Medgar would admit to being afraid but then say, "I can't let that stop me from doing what I must." 

These fears, however, were very real. In 1963, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the carport of his home. Shortly after, someone tried to run Medgar over. 

Then, in the early morning of Wednesday, June 12 of that year, when Medgar returned home after a usual long day from work, wearing a T-shirt that read, "Jim Crow Must Go," he was shot in the back as he got out of his car and began walking to the front door. He died about an hour later. He was 37 years old. 

The following year, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and then Voting Rights Act of 1965, giving black Americans the rights Medgar had worked so hard for. 

It would take 30 years for the man who committed the murder to be found guilty and sent to prison for life. 

Historical Snapshots is a reader-supported publication. Become a paid subscriber to receive long-form stories and help support history storytelling.

Sources:

* Elliot, Jeffrey, and Medgar Evers. “MEDGAR EVERS a Personal Portrait.” Negro History Bulletin, vol. 40, no. 6, 1977, pp. 760–63. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44176405. Accessed 1 May 2024.

* Medgar Evers, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right, wearing jacket and tie. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/93516441/>.

* "Medgar Evers." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medgar_Evers

* NAACP Speech on June 7, 1963.

* St. Lawrence, Genevieve. Medgar Evers. United States, Raintree, 2004.

* Tisdale, John Rochelle, 1958-. Medgar Evers (1925-1963) and the Mississippi Press, dissertation, December 1996; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278976/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library,  https://digital.library.unt.edu;