PRESENTATION OUTLINE
WHO HE WASEvers was a world war II veteran who who participated in the Normandy invasion. Born in Decatur Mississippi, on July 2,1925, Medgar Evers was the third of five children born to farmer and sawmill worker James Evers and his wife Jesse. Evers left high school at the age of 17 to enlist in the still-segregated U.S Army, eventually rising to the rank of sergeant. In June 1944, Evers unit was part of the massive, post D-Day invasion of Europe. He served in both France and Germany until his honorable discharge in 1946.
What He Worked As
1. In December of that year, Evers became the NAACP's first field officer in Mississippi.
2. After moving to Jackson, he was involved in a boycott campaign against white merchants and was instrumental in eventually desegregating the University of Mississippi when that institution was finally forced to enroll James Meredith in
3. After moving to nearby mound bayou Evers worked as an insurance agent and began attending meetings of a local civil rights organization 4 . Worked for the (RCNL) Regional Council of Negro Leadership.
Evers Influence in the Civil Rights Movement
Evers approached the NAACP for help when he was denied entry to a school because he had "Failed" The leader of the NAACP helped and told him to be their first ever secretary. On December 1954 he opened his office. He nearly doubled NAACP's membership in Mississippi to more than 15,000.
Medgar Evers was assassinated by Byron De La Beckwith a member of the White Citizens Council. After president Kennedy had delivered a landmark speech on civil rights. 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.
