Medgar+Evers

By Jyell Grade 4

Medgar Evers was a Civil Rights worker for the NAACP in the 1960’s. He did marches, protests and boycotts all across Mississippi. Medgar was an all around leader and was supporting Malcolm X’s rule “by any means necessary”. Medgar was a good leader and was against segregation and racism.

Medgar Evers was born June 12, 1925 near Decatur, Mississippi. He had three siblings. When Medgar was young his family didn’t have much money. When Medgar left from school white children often hit him with rocks. This is how most Blacks faced racism in different neighborhoods. Even in college they faced this rude behavior.

In 1943 Medgar went to Normandy to fight in World War II. When Medgar and other Black soldiers went to Paris, France, they got a warm welcome, but when they got back to America they were still only accepted as second class citizens.

After leaving Normandy in 1945, Medgar Evers went to Alcorn State. In those six years he received his BA degree. After he left college in 1951 he married Myrlie Beasley on December 24, 1951. He was an insurance salesman for one year before he quit. He then started working for the NAACP. He worked there for eleven years: from 1952 to 1963, and did marches, boycotts and protests. Medgar also played a big part in the Emmett Till case. He and some friends dressed up as sharecroppers on a plantation. They tried to get information on the case.

One night on June 12, 1963 Medgar was coming home from a meeting and was shot in the back. A few weeks later his house was firebombed.

Medgar Evers left a legacy of greatness because he was a civil rights leader who focused on Blacks’ rights so they could have integration. He wanted Blacks and whites to be together in an equal world. media type="youtube" key="CDF63Bh5OgM" height="350" width="425" align="left"