African Americans and The Vote: Medgar Evers

Medgar Evers, born July 2nd, 1925, was a WWII veteran and civil right’s activist. He went overseas to fight for his country, only to return and still be considered a second class citizen. He dedicated his life to the civil right’s movement and he had a burning desire to make a change within his community by fighting for African Americans ability to fairly register to vote. Unfortunately, his life was cut short June 12, 1963 when he was murdered in his drive way in front of his wife and kids.

All persons should have the opportunity to register to vote and to do the things the constitution guarantees them

Medgar Evers

Evers returned from WWII and enrolled at Alcorn college. Upon completing his degree, he became involved in the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL). His first task in the organization was setting up boycotts against gas stations that refused to let African Americans use their restrooms. He later became active in the NAACP when he was denied entry into University of Mississippi Law School because of the color of his skin. He worked with Thurgood Marshall to overturn the ruling. It was later decided in the Brown v. Board Education case that the segregation of schools was unlawful, but it took many years for it to fully go into effect.

In 1954 Evers became the first field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi. He was responsible for traveling across Mississippi to recruit new members into the NAACP as well as organizing voter registration efforts. Evers also continued to organize boycotts against companies that exercised discrimination. His contributions to the civil rights efforts ultimately made him a target to white supremacists. Many attempts were made on his life leading up to his untimely death. However, Evers did not die in vain. His death was an incendiary moment that lit a match under the civil right’s movement, and greatly impacted the Freedom Summer movement in 1964.

Guest writer:
Loretta Grant.

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