The Autobiography of Medgar Evers : A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, and Speeches

On the evening of June 12, 1963 — the day President John F. Kennedy gave his most impassioned speech about the need for interracial tolerance "Medgar Evers, the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi, was shot and killed by an assassin's bullet in his driveway. The still-smoking gun — bearing the fingerprints of Byron De La Beckwith, a staunch white supremacist — was recovered moments later in some nearby bushes. Still, Beckwith remained free for over thirty years, until Evers's widow finally forced the Mississippi courts to bring him to justice. The Autobiography of Medgar Evers tells the full story of one the greatest leaders of the civil rights movement, bringing his achievement to life for a new generation. Although Evers's memory has remained a force in the civil rights movement, the legal battles surrounding his death have too often overshadowed the example and inspiration of his life. Myrlie Evers-Williams and Manning Marable have assembled the previously untouched cache of Medgar's personal documents, writings, and speeches. These remarkable pieces range from Medgar's monthly reports to the NAACP to his correspondence with luminaries of the time such as Robert Carter, General Counsel for the NAACP in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. Most important of all are the recollections of Myrlie Evers, combined with letters from her personal collection. These documents and memories form the backbone of The Autobiography of Medgar Evers a cohesive narrative detailing the rise and tragic death of a civil rights hero.

one Of America’s Leading Black Intellectuals Teams Up With Myrlie Evers-williams To Bring Us The First-ever Definitive Look At The Life, Work, And Tragic Death Of Civil Rights Hero Medgar Evers

kliatt

there Is A Major Motion Picture About Him, A College Named After Him, And An Institute Dedicated To His Legacy—but Who Was This Man, Medgar Wiley Evers? What Did He Fight For? While His Story Still Seems A Bit Incomplete, His Transcribed Conference Calls, Speeches, Memos, And Letters To And From Some Of The Well-known Figures Of The Civil Rights Movement During The 1950s And 1960s Contained In This Valuable Source Do Help To Answer Some Basic Questions About The Field Secretary Of The Mississippi Branch Of The National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People (naacp). The Footnotes Offering Short Biographies Of Various People, Such As James Meredith, Simeon Booker, Jackie Robinson, And Leontyne Price, Mentioned In The Over 85 Documents In The Book, Coupled With Bibliographical Citations, Are Invaluable To Researchers, Teachers And Students Alike. Several B/w Photos Of Evers At Work Consoling A Black Girl Badly Beaten By Police, Escorting Lena Horne To A Civil Rights Rally, And Addressing A Crowd At A Desegregation Rally, Along With A Photo Of His Blood-stained Driver's License, Indicate The Magnitude Of His Commitment To The Struggle For Freedom And Equality. Evers Was Brutally Murdered In 1963, But His Devotion To Encouraging Blacks To Register To Vote, Protest, Boycott, And Resist Oppression Of All Kinds Helped Propel Citizens And Lawmakers Of Mississippi To Demand A More Equitable State And Society.

PREFACE; INTRODUCTION; CHAPTER I Bring Justice Sure; CHAPTER II Trial By Fire; CHAPTER III Why I Live In Mississippi; CHAPTER IV Our Need For Political Participation; CHAPTER V Keep Your Eyes on the Prize; CHAPTER VI Taking Freedom For Ourselves; CHAPTER VII I Speak as a Native Mississippian; CHAPTER VIII After Medgar, No More Fear; NOTES; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX.;One of America's leading black intellectuals teams up with Myrlie Evers-Williams to bring us the first-ever definitive look at the life, work, and tragic death of civil rights hero Medgar Evers. The American civil rights movement of the 1950s, and 1960s was spurred by innumerable heros who earned small triumphs in the face of epic intolerance and terror. [This book] reveals what it mean to fight the most intractably racist bureaucracy of the Tim Crow era. [In the book, the editor] ha[s] created a vibrant portrait of an activist at work. The result is both a tribute to a civil rights hero and a living testament to the power of grassroots political action to change our lives for the better.-Dust jacket. Presents a collection of the papers, essays, and letters of Medgar Evers, a hero of the American civil rights movement who was murdered in 1963 by white supremacists. Includes photographs