(1925–63). Medgar Evers was devoted to the struggle for African American equal rights. In the end he gave his life for it. His assassination called attention to the depth of racial hatred in the southern United States and inspired others to carry on his work.

Early life

Medgar Wiley Evers was born in Decatur, Mississippi, on July 2, 1925. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Then he went back to Mississippi and studied business administration at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College. Alcorn was a state college set aside for African Americans, who were not allowed to go to the state universities that enrolled whites. After graduation he took a job selling insurance.

Career

In Mississippi and other parts of the southern United States blacks and whites were kept separate in all areas of society—not just education. This policy was known as segregation. African Americans had fewer opportunities than whites and were usually prevented from voting. White mobs killed many African Americans and were seldom brought to justice.

In the early 1950s some people decided that these injustices should not be allowed to continue. They were the pioneers of the civil rights movement, and Evers was one of them. In 1952 he joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as a volunteer. Later he became a full-time field secretary for the NAACP. He and his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, the state capital.

Evers had been rejected by the University of Mississippi because of his race, but in 1962 he helped James Meredith enroll there as its first African American student. Evers also traveled through the state recruiting members for the NAACP and organizing campaigns for voting rights. He also encouraged economic boycotts, during which people refused to do business with firms that practiced racial discrimination.

Death

Evers' work made him the target of constant threats and occasional violence. Then, on the night of June 12, 1963, he was shot to death in his driveway while coming home from a meeting. The entire country was shocked by the murder. Evers was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. The NAACP awarded him its Spingarn Medal. Afterward, civil rights workers strengthened their efforts. Medgar Evers' work was carried on by his older brother, James Evers.

Byron de La Beckwith, a white segregationist, was tried twice for Evers' murder shortly after it occurred. Even though Beckwith's fingerprints were found on the murder weapon, he was not convicted either time. In 1994, after a third trial, he was found guilty.