Medgar Evers

Medgar "Cornelious" Evers

Hey! My name is Cornelious! But today, you can call me Medgar Evers!

I am the first State Field Secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi! This was no easy task, especially since I only lived until 38 years old!

The job of the State Field Secretary of the NAACP was to organize voter registration, boycotts, and investigate crimes against black people.

I was born in Decatur, Mississippi in 1925 and passed in Jackson, Mississippi on June 12th, 1963.

In 1943, I was drafter in the U.S. Army and fought in both France and Germany during World War II. I was honorable discharged in 1946.

In 1952, I graduated from Alcorn State University where I found my wife Myrlie Beasley.

My first organized activism was with the Region Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL). My first task was to lead boycotts against gas stations that would not allow people of color to use their bathrooms.

I later joined the NAACP to organize local affiliates.

After I passed in 1963, my wife established the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute in Jackson, Mississippi.

The City University of New York named one of its campus’s after me. (Medgar Evers College)

In 2009, the U.S. Navy placed my name on one of its ships!

In 2017, Barack Obama made Medgar Evers home a national historic landmark!

Today, I am Medgar Evers! And so are you!