Editing Medgar Evers

{{Short description|American civil rights activist and soldier (1925–1963)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Medgar Evers
| image              = Medgar Evers press photo.jpg
| caption            = Evers {{circa|1963}}
| birth_name         = Medgar Wiley Evers
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1925|7|2}}
| birth_place        = [[Decatur, Mississippi]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1963|6|12|1925|7|2}}
| death_place        = [[Jackson, Mississippi]], U.S.
| death_cause        = [[Gunshot wound]]
| burial_place       = [[Arlington National Cemetery]] (with [[Military funeral|full military honors]])
| education          = [[Alcorn State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| occupation         = [[Civil rights activist]]
| relations          = [[Charles Evers]] (brother)
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Myrlie Evers-Williams|Myrlie Beasley]]|1951<!--Don't put an end year per template instructions-->}}
| children           = 3
| module             = {{Infobox military person
|embed         = yes
|allegiance    = {{flagcountry|United States|1912}}
|branch        = {{army|United States|1912}}
|serviceyears  = 1943–1946
|unit          = [[Transportation Corps|657th Port Company]]
|rank          = [[Technician fifth grade|Technician Fifth Grade]]
|battles       = {{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
** [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]]
*** [[Normandy landings]]
{{tree list/end}}
}}
}}
{{CRM in Mississippi}}

'''Medgar Wiley Evers''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛ|d|ɡ|ər}}; July 2, 1925{{spaced ndash}}June 12, 1963) was an American civil rights activist and soldier who was the [[NAACP]]'s first field secretary in [[Mississippi]]. Evers, a [[United States Army]] veteran who served in [[World War II]], was engaged in efforts to overturn [[Racial segregation in the United States|racial segregation]] at the [[University of Mississippi]], end the segregation of public facilities, and expand opportunities for [[African Americans]], including the enforcement of [[Suffrage|voting rights]] when he was assassinated by [[Byron De La Beckwith]].

After college, Evers became active in the [[civil rights movement]] in the 1950s. Following the 1954 ruling of the [[United States Supreme Court]] in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' that segregated public schools were unconstitutional, Evers challenged the segregation of the state-supported public University of Mississippi. He applied to law school there, as the state had no public law school for African Americans. He also worked for voting rights, economic opportunity, access to public facilities, and other changes in the segregated society. In 1963 Evers was awarded the NAACP [[Spingarn Medal]].

Evers was murdered in 1963 at his home in [[Jackson, Mississippi]], now the [[Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument]], by [[Byron De La Beckwith]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/media-jan-june02-evers_04-18 |title=The Medgar Evers Assassination] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109145528/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/media-jan-june02-evers_04-18 |url-status=live |archivedate=January 9, 2021 |work=[[PBS Newshour]] |first=Ross |last=Barnett |date=April 18, 2002 |access-date=January 6, 2021 }}</ref> a member of the [[White Citizens' Council]] in Jackson. 

His murder and the resulting trials inspired civil rights protests. His life and death have inspired numerous works of art, music, and film. Although [[all-white juries]] failed to reach verdicts in the first two trials of De La Beckwith in the 1960s, he was convicted in 1994 based on new evidence. Evers' widow, [[Myrlie Evers]], became a noted activist in her own right, and served as national chair of the NAACP. In 1969, after passage of civil rights legislation and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Medgar's brother [[Charles Evers]] was elected as mayor of [[Fayette, Mississippi]]. He was the first African American to be elected mayor of a Mississippi city in the post-Reconstruction era.

==Early life and education==
[[File:Medgar evers army.jpg|thumb|upright|Evers while he was serving in the U.S. Army]]

Medgar Wiley Evers was born on July 2, 1925, in [[Decatur, Mississippi]], the third of five children (including elder brother [[Charles Evers]]) of Jesse (Wright) and James Evers.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Have no fear: the Charles Evers story |last1=Evers |first1=Charles |last2=Szanton|first2=Andrew  |date=1997 |pages=5 |oclc=60191485}}</ref> The family included Jesse's two children from a previous marriage.<ref>[http://www.blackpast.org/aah/evers-james-charles-1922 "James Charles Evers"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916142414/http://www.blackpast.org/aah/evers-james-charles-1922 |date=September 16, 2017 }}, ''Black Past''</ref><ref>{{cite web | url =http://mememorial.org/medgar-w-evers-civil-rights-activist/ | title =Medgar W. Evers – Civil Rights Activist | publisher =memorial.org | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130611071827/http://mememorial.org/medgar-w-evers-civil-rights-activist/ | archive-date =June 11, 2013 }}</ref> The Evers family owned a small farm and James also worked at a sawmill.<ref name="Williams, Reggie 2005">{{cite news|first=Reggie|last=Williams|title=Remembering Medgar|newspaper=Afro King – American Red Star|page=A1|date=July 2, 2005}}</ref>  Evers and his siblings walked {{convert|12|mi|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} a day to attend [[Racial segregation in the United States|racially segregated]] schools; eventually Medgar earned his high school diploma.<ref name="My Hero">{{cite web |url=https://myhero.com/Evers_NW |url-status=live |author=Sina |title=Freedom Hero: Medgar Wiley Evers |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105145647/http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=Evers_NW |archivedate=January 5, 2010 |work=The My Hero Project |date=2005 |access-date=October 25, 2009 }}</ref>

In 1943, Evers enlisted in the [[United States Army]] at the age of 17; he was prompted to do so by the [[Racism in the United States|racism]] he experienced at home and Charles' prior enlistment in the Army. Evers served in the [[657th Port Company]], a [[Racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces|segregated unit]] of the Army's [[Transportation Corps]], participating in the [[Normandy landings]] on June 1944. In France, Evers' unit was part of the [[Red Ball Express]], which delivered supplies to Allied troops fighting on the frontlines. During his time in the Army, Evers was angered by the segregation and mistreatment endured by African-American troops. Witnessing Black soldiers of the [[French Liberation Army|Free French Forces]] being treated as the equals of white troops, he once told Charles that "When we get out of the Army, we’re going to straighten this thing out!" 

In 1946, Evers was discharged from the Army at the rank of [[technician fifth grade]], having earned the [[Good Conduct Medal (United States)|Good Conduct Medal]], [[European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]], and [[World War II Victory Medal]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Myrlie|last1=Evers-Williams|first2=Manning|last2=Marable|title=The Autobiography of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters and Speeches|date=2005|publisher=[[Basic Books|Basic Civitas Books]]|location=New York City|isbn=0-465-02177-8|url=https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofm00ever}}</ref> After returning to Decatur, Evers enrolled at the [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black]] [[Alcorn State University|Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College]] in 1948, majoring in business administration.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book|last1=Arroyo|first1=Elizabeth|chapter=Medgar Evers|title=Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History|editor-first=Colin A.|editor-last=Palmer|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]|location=London, England|date=2006|page=738|edition=2nd|isbn=978-0028658162}}</ref><ref name="W.E.B. Du Bois Institute">{{cite web|url=http://dubois.fas.harvard.edu/evers-medgar-2-july-1925-12-june-1963-civil-rights-activist-was|title=Evers, Medgar (2 July 1925 – 12 June 1963), Civil Rights Activist, Was ...|publisher=[[Harvard University]]|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|access-date=June 24, 2013|archive-date=October 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005082232/http://dubois.fas.harvard.edu/evers-medgar-2-july-1925-12-june-1963-civil-rights-activist-was|url-status=dead}}</ref> He also competed on the debate, football, and track teams, sang in the choir, and was elected as junior class president.<ref>{{cite web|first=John B.|last=Padgett|url=http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/evers_medgar/index.html|title=Medgar Evers|website=The Mississippi Writers Page|publisher=[[University of Mississippi]]|location=Olive Branch, Mississippi|date=2008|access-date=September 2, 2010|archive-date=October 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005015906/http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/evers_medgar/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Evers earned his [[Bachelor of Arts]] in 1952.<ref name="W.E.B. Du Bois Institute"/> On December 24, 1951, Evers married classmate [[Myrlie Evers-Williams|Myrlie Beasley]].<ref>{{cite web |url =http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.CON.RES.51: |title =Commending Medgar Wiley Evers and his widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams for their lives and accomplishments, designating a Medgar Evers National Week of Remembrance, and for other purposes (Introduced in Senate – IS) |author =[[THOMAS]], ''[[United States Library of Congress]]'' |publisher =thomas.loc.gov |date =June 9, 2003 |access-date =June 24, 2013 |archive-date =July 4, 2016 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160704125606/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.CON.RES.51: |url-status =live }}</ref> Together they had three children: Darrell Kenyatta, Reena Denise, and James Van Dyke Evers.<ref>{{Citation|title=Eyes on the Prize; Interview with Darrell Evers|url=http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-151-cv4bn9xv7m|language=en|access-date=February 10, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Dustin|last=Cardon|url=http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2013/jan/21/myrlie-evers-williams/|title=Myrlie Evers-Williams|newspaper=[[Jackson Free Press]]|publisher=[[Association of Alternative Newsweeklies]]|location=Jackson, Mississippi|date=January 21, 2013|access-date=June 24, 2013|archive-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916141106/http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2013/jan/21/myrlie-evers-williams/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Activism==
The couple moved to [[Mound Bayou, Mississippi]], a town developed by African Americans after the Civil War. Evers became a salesman for [[T. R. M. Howard]]'s Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Company.<ref name="NAACP Bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history-medgar-evers |title=NAACP HISTORY: MEDGAR EVERS |author=National Association for the Advancement of Colored People |publisher=naacp.org |date=June 24, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004234230/http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history-medgar-evers |archive-date=October 4, 2013 |author-link=National Association for the Advancement of Colored People }}</ref> 

Becoming active in the civil rights movement, he served as  president of the [[Regional Council of Negro Leadership]] (RCNL), which began to organize actions to end segregation;<ref name="Wesleyan University">{{cite web |url =http://www.wesleyan.edu/mlk/posters/pdfs/evers.pdf |title =Medgar Evers: July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963 |author =Wesleyan University |publisher =wesleyan.edu |date =June 24, 2013 |author-link =Wesleyan University |access-date =June 24, 2013 |archive-date =May 16, 2017 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170516231427/http://www.wesleyan.edu/mlk/posters/pdfs/evers.pdf |url-status =live }}</ref> Evers helped organize the RCNL's boycott of those gasoline stations that denied blacks the use of the stations' restrooms. He and his brother, Charles, attended the RCNL's annual conferences in Mound Bayou between 1952 and 1954, which drew crowds of 10,000 or more.<ref>{{cite book|first1=David T.|last1=Beito|first2=Linda|last2=Royster Beito|title=T.R.M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Pioneer|publisher=Independent Institute|location=Oakland, California|date=2018|isbn=978-1598133127|pages=88–93}}</ref>

In 1954, following the [[Brown v. Board of Education|U.S. Supreme Court ruling]] that segregated public schools were unconstitutional, Evers applied to the state-supported [[University of Mississippi Law School]] to challenge that practice in the state. His application was rejected due to his race, as the flagship school had long been segregated.<ref name="Ribeiro2001">{{cite book|first1=Myra|last1=Ribeiro|title=The Assassination of Medgar Evers|url=https://archive.org/details/assassinationofm00ribe|url-access=registration|access-date=September 27, 2012|year=2001|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3544-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/assassinationofm00ribe/page/16 16]}}</ref> Evers submitted his application as part of a [[Test_case_(law)|test case]] by the [[NAACP]].<ref name="BrownStentiford2008">{{cite book|first1=Nikki L. M.|last1=Brown|first2=Barry M.|last2=Stentiford|title=The Jim Crow Encyclopedia: Greenwood Milestones in African American History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oLjYbzkGWk8C&pg=PA277|access-date=September 27, 2012|year= 2008|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-313-34181-6|pages=277–78|archive-date=May 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530003229/http://books.google.com/books?id=oLjYbzkGWk8C&pg=PA277|url-status=live}}</ref>

On November 24, 1954,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wynne|first1=Ben|title=Black America: A State-By-State Historical Encyclopedia|date=2011|page=436}}</ref> Evers was named as the NAACP's first field secretary for Mississippi.<ref name="Williams, Reggie 2005"/> In this position, he helped organize boycotts and set up new local chapters of the NAACP. Evers was also involved with [[James Meredith]]'s efforts to enroll in the University of Mississippi in the early 1960s.<ref name="BrownStentiford2008"/><!-- It is 8 yrs from 1954 to Meredith -- surely we can say more about what Evers did all this time -->

Evers also encouraged Dr. Gilbert Mason Sr. in his organizing of the [[Biloxi wade-ins]] from 1959 to 1963, protests against segregation of the city's public beaches on the [[Mississippi Gulf Coast]].<ref name="RandallDorian2013">{{cite book|first=Dorian|last=Randall|title=Medgar Evers: Direct Action|url=http://mdah.state.ms.us/senseofplace/2013/06/17/medgar-evers-direct-action/|access-date=January 17, 2014|date=June 17, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121031957/http://mdah.state.ms.us/senseofplace/2013/06/17/medgar-evers-direct-action/|archive-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref> Evers conducted actions to help integrate Jackson's privately owned buses and tried to integrate the public parks. Evers led voter registration drives and used boycotts to integrate Leake County schools and the [[Mississippi State Fair]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Evers' civil rights leadership, along with his investigative work, made him a target of [[white supremacy|white supremacists]]. Following the ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' decision, local whites founded the [[Citizens' Council|White Citizens' Council]] in Mississippi, and numerous local chapters were started, to resist the [[racial integration|integration]] of schools and facilities. In the weeks before Evers was killed, he encountered new levels of hostility. Evers' public investigations into the 1955 [[Lynching in the United States|lynching]] of Chicago teenager [[Emmett Till]] in Mississippi, and his vocal support of [[Clyde Kennard]], had made Evers a prominent black leader. On May 28, 1963, a [[Molotov cocktail]] was thrown into the carport of his home.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://beta.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-resolution/1022/text?textVersion=54662 | title =H.Res.1022 – Honoring the life and sacrifice of Medgar Evers and congratulating the United States Navy for naming a supply ship after Medgar Evers. | first =Hank | last =Johnson | author-link =Hank Johnson | publisher =beta.congress.gov | date =January 21, 2013 | access-date =June 24, 2013 | archive-date =April 7, 2014 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20140407064948/http://beta.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-resolution/1022/text?textVersion=54662 | url-status =live }}</ref> On June 7, 1963, Evers was nearly run down by a car after he came out of the NAACP office in [[Jackson, Mississippi]].<ref name="NAACP Bio"/>

==Death==
[[File:6.13, 1963. Rifle that killed Medgar Evers. Located latent fingerprints on telescopic site. Medgar was shot off Delta Drive, Jackson, Miss..png|thumb|200px|The rifle used by De La Beckwith to assassinate Evers]]
[[File:Medgar Evers house.jpg|thumb|right|The Evers house at 2332 Margaret Walker Alexander Drive, now the [[Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument]], where Medgar Evers was fatally shot after getting out of his car.<ref>[http://www.everstribute.org/house_tour.php Medgar Evers home tour] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219014916/http://www.everstribute.org/house_tour.php |date=December 19, 2013 }} Retrieved December 25, 2013</ref>]]
Evers lived with the constant threat of death. A large white supremacist population and the [[Ku Klux Klan]] were present in [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]] and its suburbs. The risk was so high that before his death, Evers and his wife, Myrlie, had trained their children on what to do in case of a shooting, bombing, or other kind of attack on their lives.<ref name=":0">Bates, Karen Grigsby. "Trials & Transformation: Myrlie Evers' 30-Year Fight to Convict Medgar's Accused Killer", ''Emerge'' 02 1994: 35. ''ProQuest. ''Web. May 27, 2017</ref> Evers, who was regularly followed home by at least two FBI cars and a police car, arrived at his home on the morning of his death without an escort. None of his usual protection was present, for reasons unspecified by the FBI or local police. There has been speculation that many members of the police force at the time were members of the Klan.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|first=Anne|last=Moody|title=Coming of Age in Mississippi: The Classic Autobiography of Growing Up Poor and Black in the Rural South|publisher=[[Dell Publishing]]|location=New York City|date=1976|isbn=978-0440314882}}</ref>

In the early morning of Wednesday, June 12, 1963, just hours after President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s nationally televised [[Report to the American People on Civil Rights|Civil Rights Address]], Evers pulled into his driveway after returning from a meeting with NAACP lawyers. His family had worried for his safety that day, and Evers himself had warned his wife that he felt in greater danger than usual.

Emerging from his car and carrying NAACP T-shirts that read "[[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow]] Must Go", Evers was struck in the back with a bullet fired from an [[M1917 Enfield|Eddystone Enfield 1917 rifle]]; the bullet passed through his heart. Initially thrown to the ground by the impact of the shot, Evers rose and staggered {{convert|30|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|-1}} before collapsing outside his front door. His wife, Myrlie, was the first to find him.<ref name=":0" />

Evers was taken to the local hospital in Jackson, where he was initially refused entry because of his race. Evers' family explained who he was, and he was admitted; Evers died in the hospital 50 minutes later, three weeks before his 38th birthday.<ref>Birnbaum, p. 490.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=May 2014}} Evers was the first black man to be admitted to an all-white hospital in Mississippi.<ref name=":0" /> Mourned nationally, Evers was buried on June 19 in [[Arlington National Cemetery]], where he received [[Military funeral|full military honors]] before a crowd of more than 3,000 people.<ref name="Wesleyan University"/><ref>{{cite journal|first=Keith|last=Orejel|title=The Federal Government's Response to Medgar Evers's Funeral|journal=Southern Quarterly|publisher=[[University of Southern Mississippi]]|location=Hattiesburg, Mississippi|volume=49|issue=2/3|date=Winter–Spring 2012|pages=37–54}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=State of Siege: Mississippi Whites and the Civil Rights Movement |first1=Kate |last1=Ellis |first2=Stephen |last2=Smith |work=American Public Media |year=2011 |access-date=February 19, 2011 |url=http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/mississippi/ |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727191304/http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/mississippi/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Aftermath ===
After Evers was assassinated, an estimated 5,000 people marched from the Masonic Temple on Lynch Street to the Collins Funeral Home on North Farish Street in Jackson. [[Allen Johnson (activist)|Allen Johnson]], [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], and other civil rights leaders led the procession.<ref name="shall">{{cite book|last1=O'Brien|first1=M. J.|title=We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth's Sit-In and the Movement It Inspired|year=2013|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|page=118|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3yuLj3OySpYC&q=%22reverend+allen+johnson%22&pg=PA118-IA14|access-date=September 7, 2015|isbn=978-1617037436|archive-date=June 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620023530/https://books.google.com/books?id=3yuLj3OySpYC&q=%22reverend+allen+johnson%22&pg=PA118-IA14|url-status=live}}</ref> The Mississippi police came to the non-violent protest armed with riot gear and rifles. While tensions were initially high in the stand-off between police and marchers, both in Jackson and in many similar marches around the state, leaders of the movement maintained non-violence among their followers.<ref name=":1" />

===Trials===
On June 21, 1963, [[Byron De La Beckwith]], a fertilizer salesman and member of the Citizens' Council (and later of the Ku Klux Klan), was arrested for Evers' murder.<ref name="ajr">{{cite journal|first=Marcel|last=Dufresne|url=http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=1311|title=Exposing the Secrets of Mississippi Racism|journal=[[American Journalism Review]]|publisher=[[Philip Merrill College of Journalism]]|location=College Park, Maryland|date=October 1991|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=October 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026160919/http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=1311|url-status=live}}</ref> District Attorney and future governor [[Bill Waller]] prosecuted De La Beckwith.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jerry|last=Mitchell|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/06/02/medgar-evers-family-legacy/2378631/|title=Medgar Evers: Assassin's gun forever changed a family|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|location=Mclean, Virginia|date=June 2, 2013|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=September 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920190605/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/06/02/medgar-evers-family-legacy/2378631/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[All-white juries]] in February and April 1964<ref>{{cite news |title=White Supremacist Indicted for Third Time in Shooting Death of Medgar Evers |magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]] |volume=79|issue=12 |date=January 7, 1991 }}</ref> [[hung jury|deadlocked]] on De La Beckwith's guilt and failed to reach a verdict. At the time, most black people were still [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchised]] by Mississippi's constitution and voter registration practices; this meant they were also excluded from juries, which were drawn from the pool of registered voters.

Myrlie Evers did not give up the fight for the conviction of her husband's killer. She waited until a new judge had been assigned in the county to take her case against De La Beckwith back into the courtroom.<ref name=":0" /> In 1994, De La Beckwith was prosecuted by the state based on new evidence. [[Bobby DeLaughter]] was the prosecutor. During the trial, the body of Evers was exhumed for an autopsy.<ref name="Baden, 2006">{{cite book|first=M. M.|last=Baden|chapter=Time of Death and Changes after Death. Part 4: Exhumation|title=Spitz and Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death. Guideline for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigations|editor1-first=W.U.|editor1-last=Spitz|editor2-first=D.J.|editor2-last=Spitz|edition=4th|publisher=Charles C. Thomas|location=Springfield, Illinois|date=2006|isbn=978-0398075446|pages=174–83}}</ref> His body was embalmed, and was in such good condition that his son was allowed to view his father's remains for the first time in 30 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/how-long-bodies-take-to-decompose|title=How long does it take for a body to decompose?|first=David|last=Volkpublished|date=January 2, 2023|website=livescience.com}}</ref>

De La Beckwith was convicted of murder on February 5, 1994 and sentenced to life in prison, having lived as a free man for much of the three decades following the killing. He had been imprisoned from 1977 to 1980 for conspiring to murder [[Adolph Botnick|A. I. Botnick]]. In 1997, De La Beckwith appealed his conviction in the Evers case but the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld it and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear it.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Batten|first1=Donna|title=Gale Encyclopedia of American Law|date=2010|page=266|edition=3rd}}</ref> He died at the age of 80 in prison on January 21, 2001.<ref>"Deliverance." ''People Weekly'' February 21, 1994: 60. ''ProQuest''. Web. May 27, 2017</ref><ref>"Unfinished Business". ''U.S. News & World Report'' January 24, 1994: 14. ''ProQuest'' Web. May 27, 2017</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Headstone of Medgar Evers.jpg|thumb|Grave at [[Arlington National Cemetery]]]]
Evers was memorialized by leading Mississippi and national authors [[James Baldwin]], [[Margaret Walker]], [[Eudora Welty]], and [[Anne Moody]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://southernspaces.org/2008/mourning-medgar-justice-aesthetics-and-local |doi=10.18737/M79W22 |title=Mourning Medgar: Justice, Aesthetics, and the Local |year=2008 |last1=Gwin |first1=Minrose |journal=Southern Spaces |doi-access=free |access-date=June 20, 2021 |archive-date=July 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728043858/http://southernspaces.org/2008/mourning-medgar-justice-aesthetics-and-local |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1963, Evers was posthumously awarded the [[Spingarn Medal]] by the NAACP.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naacp.org/pages/spingarn-medal-winners |title=NAACP Spingarn Medal |publisher=Naacp.org |access-date=June 13, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802063355/http://www.naacp.org/pages/spingarn-medal-winners |archive-date=August 2, 2014 }}</ref> In 1969, [[Medgar Evers College]] was established in [[Brooklyn|Brooklyn, New York]], as part of the [[City University of New York]].

Evers' widow, Myrlie Evers, co-wrote the 1967 book ''For Us, the Living'' with William Peters. In 1983, [[For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story|a television movie was made]] based on the book. Celebrating Evers's life and career, it starred [[Howard Rollins|Howard Rollins Jr.]] and [[Irene Cara]] as Medgar and Myrlie Evers, airing on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]. The film won the [[Writers Guild of America]] award for Best Adapted Drama.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allrovi.com/movies/movie/v62616 |title= For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story |publisher= www.allrovi.com |access-date= September 12, 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120717222233/http://www.allrovi.com/movies/movie/v62616 |archive-date= July 17, 2012 }}</ref>

In 1969, a community pool in the [[Central District, Seattle|Central District]] neighborhood of [[Seattle]], Washington, was named after Evers, honoring his life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seattle.gov/parks/history/EversPool.pdf|title=Seattle Parks and Recreation History of Medgar Evers pool|website=Seattle Parks and Recreation History|access-date=July 13, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316232404/http://www.seattle.gov/parks/history/EversPool.pdf|archive-date=March 16, 2016}}</ref>

On June 28, 1992, the city of Jackson, Mississippi, erected a statue in honor of Evers. All of Delta Drive (part of U.S. Highway 49) in Jackson was renamed in his honor. In December 2004, the Jackson City Council changed the name of the city's airport to [[Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport]] in Evers' honor.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.jmaa.com/JAN/default.htm |title= Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport |publisher= Jackson Municipal Airport Authority |year= 2013 |access-date= January 22, 2013 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121104065802/http://www.jmaa.com/JAN/default.htm |archive-date= November 4, 2012 }}</ref>

[[File:Statue of Medgar Evers.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of Evers at the Medgar Evers Boulevard Library in [[Jackson, Mississippi]]]]

Evers' widow, Myrlie Evers, became a noted activist in her own right, eventually serving as national chairperson of the NAACP.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ND0DAAAAMBAJ&q=myrlie+evers+naacp&pg=PA36 |title=NAACP Chairwoman Myrlie Evers-Williams Will Not Seek Re-Election |journal=Jet |date=March 2, 1998 |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=June 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620023532/https://books.google.com/books?id=ND0DAAAAMBAJ&q=myrlie+evers+naacp&pg=PA36 |url-status=live }}</ref> Myrlie also founded the Medgar Evers Institute in 1998, with the initial goal of preserving and advancing the legacy of her husband's life's work. Anticipating the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Medgar Evers and recognizing the international leadership role of Myrlie Evers, the Institute's board of directors changed the organization's name to the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute.

Evers' brother, [[Charles Evers]], returned to Jackson in July 1963, and served briefly with the NAACP in his brother's place. Charles remained involved in Mississippi civil rights activities for many years, and in 1969, was the first African-American mayor elected in the state.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_people_evers.html |title=Charles Evers's biography, PBS |publisher=Pbs.org |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=October 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020045858/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_people_evers.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He died on July 22, 2020, at the age of 97, in nearby [[Brandon, Mississippi|Brandon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/us/charles-evers-dead.html|title=Charles Evers, Businessman and Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 97|first=Robert D.|last=McFadden|date=July 22, 2020|access-date=July 22, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|archive-date=July 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722213709/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/us/charles-evers-dead.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On the 40th anniversary of Evers' assassination, hundreds of civil rights veterans, government officials, and students from across the country gathered around his grave site at Arlington National Cemetery to celebrate his life and legacy. Barry Bradford and three students—Sharmistha Dev, Jajah Wu, and Debra Siegel, formerly of Adlai E. Stevenson High School in [[Lincolnshire, Illinois]]—planned and hosted the commemoration in his honor.<ref>[http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/mwevers.htm "Medgar Evers"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202101531/http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/mwevers.htm |date=February 2, 2012 }}, Arlingon Cemetery. Note: Bradford later was notable for his work in helping reopen the [[Mississippi Burning]] and [[Clyde Kennard]] cases.</ref> Evers was the subject of the students' research project.<ref>Lottie L. Joiner (July 2003), "The nation remembers Medgar Evers", ''The Crisis'', 110(4), 8. Retrieved October 26, 2009 from Research Library Core.</ref>

In October 2009, [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Navy Secretary]] [[Ray Mabus]], a former [[Mississippi]] [[governor]], announced that {{USNS|Medgar Evers|T-AKE-13}}, a {{Sclass|Lewis and Clark|dry cargo ship}}, would be named in the activist's honor.<ref>[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/The-Navy-Honors-a-Civil-Rights-Pioneer Mabus, Ray, "The Navy Honors a Civil Rights Pioneer."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012232932/http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/The-Navy-Honors-a-Civil-Rights-Pioneer/ |date=October 12, 2009 }} The White House Blog. October 9, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2010.</ref> The ship was christened by Myrlie Evers-Williams on November 12, 2011.<ref>"A Memorial for Medgar", ''San Diego Union-Tribune'', November 13, 2011.</ref>

In June 2013, a statue of Evers was erected at his alma mater, Alcorn State University, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Evers' death.<ref>{{cite web |url =https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-race-evers-idUSBRE95B19020130612 |title =Mississippi marks 50th anniversary of Medgar Evers' death |author =Therese Apel |publisher =reuters.com |date =June 12, 2013 |access-date =July 1, 2017 |archive-date =September 24, 2015 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150924182053/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/12/us-usa-race-evers-idUSBRE95B19020130612 |url-status =live }}</ref> Alumni and guests from around the world gathered to recognize his contributions to American society.

Evers was also honored in a tribute at Arlington National Cemetery on the 50th anniversary of his death.<ref>{{cite web |url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/memorial-service-for-medgar-evers-held-at-arlington-national-cemetery/2013/06/05/2044c2ea-cd55-11e2-9f1a-1a7cdee20287_story.html |title =Memorial service for Medgar Evers held at Arlington National Cemetery |author =Krissah Thompson |work =washingtonpost.com |date =June 5, 2013 |url-status =live |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130711004108/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-06-05/local/39761664_1_medgar-evers-myrlie-evers-williams-civil-rights-movement |archive-date =July 11, 2013 }}</ref> Former President [[Bill Clinton]], Attorney General [[Eric Holder]], Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, Senator [[Roger Wicker]], and NAACP President [[Benjamin Jealous]] all spoke commemorating Evers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/us/paying-tribute-to-a-seeker-of-justice-50-years-after-his-assassination.html |title=Paying Tribute to a Seeker of Justice, 50 Years After His Assassination |author=Ashley Southall |newspaper=nytimes.com |date=June 5, 2013 |access-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-date=December 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224191253/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/us/paying-tribute-to-a-seeker-of-justice-50-years-after-his-assassination.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url =http://bigstory.ap.org/article/medgar-evers-remembered-pioneer-civil-rights | title =HOLDER PRAISES SLAIN BLACK ACTIVIST MEDGAR EVERS | agency =Valerie Bonk | author =Associated Press | publisher =bigstory.ap.org | date =June 5, 2013 | author-link =Associated Press | access-date =June 24, 2013 | archive-date =June 11, 2013 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130611085622/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/medgar-evers-remembered-pioneer-civil-rights | url-status =live }}</ref> Evers's widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, spoke of his contributions to the advancement of civil rights:<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/D0/20130605/NEWS03/130605029/Medgar-Evers-honored-Arlington-National-Cemetery | title=Medgar Evers honored at Arlington National Cemetery | agency=Associated Press | newspaper=The Clarion-Ledger | date=June 5, 2013 | access-date=June 24, 2013 | archive-date=June 24, 2013 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130624232958/http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/D0/20130605/NEWS03/130605029/Medgar-Evers-honored-Arlington-National-Cemetery | url-status=live }}</ref>

<blockquote>Medgar was a man who never wanted adoration, who never wanted to be in the limelight. He was a man who saw a job that needed to be done and he answered the call and the fight for freedom, dignity and justice not just for his people but all people.</blockquote>

Evers was identified as a Freedom hero by [[The My Hero Project]].<ref name="My Hero" />

In 2017, the [[Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument|Medgar and Myrlie Evers House]] was named as a [[National Historic Landmark]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-24-new-national-historic-landmarks |title=Interior Department Announces 24 New National Historic Landmarks &#124; U.S. Department of the Interior |publisher=Doi.gov |date=January 11, 2017 |access-date=January 14, 2017 |archive-date=January 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113124854/https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-24-new-national-historic-landmarks |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, the site was designated a [[List of national monuments of the United States|National Monument]].

The [[Route 3 Bridge (Hackensack River)|Route 3 Bridge]] over the [[Hackensack River]] is dedicated to Evers.

In 2024, Evers was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President [[Joe Biden]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/03/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom-2/|publisher=The White House|title=President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|date=May 3, 2024|access-date=May 3, 2024}}</ref>

In 2025, as part of a series of [[anti-DEI deletions by the U.S. Department of Defense]], a profile of Evers was deleted from the Arlington cemetery website.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Jerry |date=2025-03-17 |title=WWII vet Medgar Evers erased from Arlington cemetery website |url=https://mississippitoday.org/2025/03/17/wwii-vet-medgar-evers-erased-from-arlington-cemetery-website/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Mississippi Today |language=en-US}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
=== Music ===
Musician [[Bob Dylan]] wrote his song "[[Only a Pawn in Their Game]]" about the assassination on July 2, 1963, on what would have been Evers' 38th birthday. [[Nina Simone]] wrote and sang "[[Mississippi Goddam]]" about the Evers case. [[Phil Ochs]] referred to Evers in the song "[[Love Me, I'm a Liberal]]" and wrote the songs "Another Country" and "Too Many Martyrs" (also titled "The Ballad of Medgar Evers") in response to the killing. [[Malvina Reynolds]] referenced Evers's murder in her song, "It Isn't Nice". [[Matthew Jones (activist)|Matthew Jones]] and the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]] [[Freedom Singers]] recorded a version of the latter song.<ref name="NAACP">{{cite web|url=http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history-medgar-evers|title=NAACP Evers biography|publisher=Naacp.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004234230/http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history-medgar-evers|archive-date=October 4, 2013|access-date=June 13, 2013}}</ref> [[Wadada Leo Smith]]'s album ''[[Ten Freedom Summers]]'' contains a track called "Medgar Evers: A Love-Voice of a Thousand Years' Journey for Liberty and Justice".<ref>{{cite web|title=Ten Freedom Summers|url=https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ten-freedom-summers-2|publisher=Cuneiform Records|access-date=May 28, 2015|archive-date=May 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529040150/https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ten-freedom-summers-2|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jackson C. Frank]]'s self-titled [[Jackson C. Frank (album)|debut album]], released in 1965, also includes a reference to Medgar Evers in the song "Don't Look Back".<ref>{{cite web|title=Retrospective Reviews II: Jackson C. Frank|date=November 16, 2016|url=https://isismagazine.org.uk/2016/11/retrospective-reviews-ii-jackson-c-frank/|publisher=Isis Magazine|access-date=June 30, 2020|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630191559/https://isismagazine.org.uk/2016/11/retrospective-reviews-ii-jackson-c-frank/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Essays and books ===
[[Eudora Welty]]'s short story, "Where Is the Voice Coming From?", in which the speaker is the imagined assassin of Medgar Evers, was published in ''The New Yorker'' in July 1963.<ref>[[Eudora Welty]], [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1963/07/06/1963_07_06_024_TNY_CARDS_000277124 "Where Is The Voice Coming From?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325002056/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1963/07/06/1963_07_06_024_TNY_CARDS_000277124 |date=March 25, 2013 }}, ''[[The New Yorker]]'', July 6, 1963.</ref>

Attorney [[Bobby DeLaughter]] wrote a first-person narrative article entitled "Mississippi Justice" published in ''Reader's Digest'' about his experiences as state prosecutor in the murder trial. He added to this account in a book, ''Never Too Late: A Prosecutor's Story of Justice in the Medgar Evers Case'' (2001).<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.simonandschuster.co.uk/Never-Too-Late/Bobby-Delaughter/9780743223393 |title=Never Too Late: A Prosecutor's Story of Justice in the Medgar Evers Case |publisher=New York: Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0743223393 |access-date=June 13, 2013 |year=2001 |archive-date=April 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403103125/http://books.simonandschuster.co.uk/Never-Too-Late/Bobby-Delaughter/9780743223393 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In ''Remembering Medgar Evers: Writing the Long Civil Rights Movement'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gwin |first1=Minrose |title=Remembering Medgar Evers: Writing the Long Civil Rights Movement by Minrose Gwin |date=2013 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |location=Athens |isbn=9780820335643 |pages=232 |url=https://ugapress.org/book/9780820335643/remembering-medgar-evers/ |access-date=31 January 2024}}</ref> [[Minrose Gwin]], then the Kenan Eminent Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and coeditor of ''The Literature of the American South'' and the ''Southern Literary Journal'', looked at the body of artistic work inspired by Evers' life and death—fiction, poetry, memoir, drama, and songs from James Baldwin, Margaret Walker, Eudora Welty, Lucille Clifton, Bob Dylan, and Willie Morris, among others.

=== Film ===
Evers was portrayed by [[Howard Rollins]] in the 1983 television film ''[[For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kaltenbach|first=Chris|title=Actor Rollins dies Appreciation: Baltimore native earned acclaim for dramatic film, stage performances.|date=December 10, 1996|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-12-10-1996345155-story.html|access-date=July 6, 2019|archive-date=July 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706231359/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-12-10-1996345155-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 1996 film ''[[Ghosts of Mississippi]]'', directed by [[Rob Reiner]], explores the 1994 trial of De La Beckwith in which prosecutor DeLaughter of the Hinds County [[District attorney|District Attorney's]] office secured a conviction in state court. Beckwith and DeLaughter were played by [[James Woods]] and [[Alec Baldwin]], respectively, with [[Whoopi Goldberg]] as Myrlie Evers. Medgar was portrayed by [[James Pickens Jr.]] The film was based on a book of the same name.<ref name="Vollers1995">{{cite book|last=Vollers|first=Maryanne|author-link=Maryanne Vollers|title=Ghosts of Mississippi: the murder of Medgar Evers, the trials of Byron de la Beckwith and the haunting of the new South|url=https://archive.org/details/ghostsofmississi00voll|url-access=registration|access-date=September 12, 2011|date= 1995|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=978-0-316-91485-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Biography of Bobby B. DeLaughter |url=http://www.mswritersandmusicians.com/writers/bobby-delaughter.html |year=2002 |access-date=September 29, 2011 |archive-date=October 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004170659/http://www.mswritersandmusicians.com/writers/bobby-delaughter.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the documentary film ''[[I Am Not Your Negro]]'' (2016), Evers is one of three Black activists (the other two are [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[Malcolm X]]) who are the focus of reminiscences by author [[James Baldwin]], who recounts the circumstances of and his reaction to Evers' assassination.<ref>Young, Deborah (September 20, 2016). [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/i-am-not-your-negro-931087 "‘I Am Not Your Negro’: Film Review | TIFF 2016"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204172708/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/i-am-not-your-negro-931087 |date=December 4, 2017 }}. ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]''.</ref>

In the 2011 film ''[[The Help (film)|The Help]]'', a clip of Evers speaking for civil rights is shown on TV, quickly followed by news of his assassination, and a glimpse of an article by his widow published in ''Life'' magazine.<ref>{{Citation|last=16 WAPT News Jackson|title=Evers On The Help|date=February 24, 2012|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJhwSA5RlOs&app=desktop|access-date=May 26, 2019|archive-date=June 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620023539/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJhwSA5RlOs&app=desktop|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 2020 documentary film "The Evers" features interviews with his surviving family members.<ref>{{Citation|last=The Evers|title=The Evers|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17014922/}}</ref>

The 2022 film ''[[Till (film)|Till]]'' depicts Evers (played by [[Tosin Cole]]) assisting [[Mamie Till|Mamie Till-Bradley]] ([[Danielle Deadwyler]]) seek justice for the murder of her son, [[Emmett Till]] ([[Jalyn Hall]]).

=== Television ===

A 2021 episode of Extra History from ''[[Extra Credits]]'' talks about Evers, his activism, and assassination.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 27, 2021|title=The Assassination of Medgar Evers – A Hero Silenced|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eWg17KSXEU|access-date=March 28, 2021|website=YouTube|archive-date=March 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327194450/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eWg17KSXEU|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of civil rights leaders]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Bruce |first=Catherine Fleming |year=2019 |orig-year=2016 |title=The Sustainers: Being, Building and Doing Good through Activism in the Sacred Spaces of Civil Rights, Human Rights and Social Movements |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p3v1yAEACAAJ |edition=2nd |location=Columbia, SC? |publisher=Tnovsa LLC |isbn=9780996219068 |oclc=1222934095}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gwin |first=Minrose |date=2013 |title=Remembering Medgar Evers: Writing the Long Civil Rights Movement |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SKpAAAAQBAJ |location=Athens, GA |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=9780820335636 |oclc=793576323}}
*{{cite book | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=k-Bvzp3xMSUC&q=Medgar+Evers+president+of+the+Regional+Council+of+Negro+Leadership&pg=PA121 | title =America Taken Hostage |last=Hinton|first= Hayden Lee| page =121 | isbn =978-1438985800 | year =2010 | publisher =AuthorHouse | author2-link =AuthorHouse | access-date =November 17, 2020 | archive-date =June 20, 2021 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20210620023529/https://books.google.com/books?id=k-Bvzp3xMSUC&q=Medgar+Evers+president+of+the+Regional+Council+of+Negro+Leadership&pg=PA121 | url-status =live }}
* {{Cite book |last=Reid |first=Joy-Ann |year=2024 |title=Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America |location=New York |publisher=Mariner Books |isbn=9780063068797 |oclc=1417659381}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://snccdigital.org/people/medgar-evers/ SNCC Digital Gateway: Medgar Evers], Documentary website created by the SNCC Legacy Project and Duke University, telling the story of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee & grassroots organizing from the inside-out
* [http://www.shapell.org/manuscript.aspx?jfk-condolence-letter-medgar-evers-1963 JFK First Draft Condolence Letter to Medgar Evers's Widow, June 12, 1963] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520104958/https://www.shapell.org/manuscript/jfk-condolence-letter-medgar-evers-1963/ |date=May 20, 2022 }} Shapell Manuscript Foundation
* [https://archive.org/details/EulogyForMedgarEversByT.r.m.Howard Audio recording of T. R. M. Howard's eulogy at the memorial service for Medgar Evers, June 15, 1963, Jackson, Mississippi.]
* {{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00sEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA34|title='He said he wouldn't mind dying – if ... '|date=June 28, 1963|magazine=LIFE|pages=34–47|author=Myrlie Evers}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070527075821/http://www.celebritycensus.com/american_civil_rights_pioneers.php Medgar Evers in the U.S. Federal Census] American Civil Rights Pioneers
* {{cite web|url=http://www.africawithin.com/bios/medgar_evers.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204102602/http://www.africawithin.com/bios/medgar_evers.htm|archivedate=February 4, 2012|title= Medgar Evers biography |publisher=Africa Within}}
* [https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/june/civil-rights-in-the-60s-justice-for-medgar-evers/civil-rights-in-the-60s-justice-for-medgar-evers FBI article: Civil Rights in the '60s: Justice for Medgar Evers]
* [https://archive.org/details/foia_Evers_Medger-HQ-1 Medgar Evers's FBI file] hosted at the [[Internet Archive]]
* [http://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/scpc-cdg-a-medgar_evans_fund Medgar Evers Fund Collected Records] held at [https://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-collection Swarthmore College Peace Collection]

{{Civil Rights Memorial|state=collapsed}}
{{Civil rights movement|state=collapsed}}
{{Spingarn Medal}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evers, Medgar}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
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