This month remember Medgar Evers, 1925-1963. He was drafted into world war II & honorably discharged after. In 1963 he, his wife Myrlie & his brother Charles joined the NAACP & organized boycotts of gas stations that refused to allow African Americans to use their restrooms. They did many other things, including establishing new NAACP chapters in places they hadn't been before. As a result he became the first field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi. On June 12th 1963 Evers got out
of his car & was shot in the back by
KKK leader Byron De La Beckwith.
He was the first martyr of the Movement.
His death inspired others to
fight even harder for change.
Among minorities President Kennedy is better known
for talking about civil rights than taking action.
After Medgar's assassination he seemed to take the
subject more seriously, addressing desegregation &
pushing Congress for a comprehensive civil rights bill.
