Medgar Wiley Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) was an African-American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi. After returning from overseas military service in World War II and completing his secondary education, he became active in the civil rights movement. He became a field secretary for the NAACP. Evers was assassinated by Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the White Citizens Council. As a veteran, Evers was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. His murder and the resulting trials inspired civil rights protests, as well as numerous works of art, music, and film. In the early morning of June 12, 1963, just hours after President John F. Kennedys speech on national television in support of civil rights, Evers pulled into his driveway after returning from a meeting. Evers was struck in the back with a bullet fired from an Enfield 1917 rifle; the bullet ripped through his heart. He staggered 9 meters (30 feet) before collapsing. He was taken to the local hospital in Jackson where he was initially refused entry because of his color, until it was explained who he was; he died in the hospital 50 minutes later. He was only 37 years old. On June 21, 1963, Byron De La Beckwith, a fertilizer salesman and member of the White Citizens Council (and later of the Ku Klux Klan), was arrested for Evers murder.[23] District Attorney and future governor Bill Waller prosecuted De La Beckwith. Juries composed solely of white men twice that year deadlocked on De La Beckwiths guilt. In 1994, 30 years after the two previous trials had failed to reach a verdict, De La Beckwith was brought to trial based on new evidence. Bobby DeLaughter was the prosecutor. During the trial, the body of Evers was exhumed from his grave for an autopsy. De La Beckwith was convicted of murder on February 5, 1994, after having lived as a free man for much of the three decades following the killing (he was imprisoned from 1977 to 1980 for conspiring to murder A. I. Botnick). De La Beckwith appealed unsuccessfully, and died at age 80 in prison in January 2001. ~ Donna He left behind a wife Myrlie and 3 children. Photo 1 - Metger Evers Photo 2 - Mrs. Evers at his funeral, comforting their 9 year old son.. ~ Donna
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 02:25:07 +0000
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