Bulletin E-Edition:
Civil rights leader to be honored
Myrlie Evers-Williams, who makes a home in Bend, ‘never gave up’
By Lauren Dake / The Bulletin
Published: October 26. 2009 4:00AM PSTMyrlie Evers-Williams
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Before Myrlie Evers-Williams’ first husband was assassinated, she made him a promise.
“We both knew the day would come when a bullet or something else would be in the hands of someone who wanted to eliminate him, and that’s what did happen,” said the 76-year-old civil rights activist who lives in Bend.
“About two nights before he was assassinated, we were consoling each other about the state of affairs and about the very possibility that very soon an attempt would be made on his life. I made a promise to him that if that did happen and I survived, I would not rest until justice was served.”
It was June 12, 1963, when civil rights activist Medgar Evers was gunned down in the driveway of his Jackson, Miss., family home. His wife and three young children, ages 9, 8 and 3, were inside. His death launched Evers-Williams’ 30-year fight that eventually put the white supremacist who killed her husband behind bars.
On Tuesday, she will be awarded the National Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn.
It’s an award, first given to Rosa Parks in 1991, that recognizes those who have made a significant contribution to civil rights.
“She never gave up; she kept fighting,” said Gwen Harmon, the community affairs director with the National Civil Rights Museum.
&##8220;With that conviction, other cases similar (to Evers’) throughout the South were reopened and those perpetrators were also brought to justice.”
Together, Medgar and Myrlie opened and managed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s first Mississippi state office.
“It was a lonely battle because most of those years, people were afraid to be visible,” Evers-Williams said.
But after her husband’s death, Evers-Williams intended to keep the promise she had made.
“I had no idea how, because living in Mississippi, there had never been a case brought in court of a Caucasian killing a Negro, as we were called,” she said. “After two trials that ended in hung juries, the man accused of murdering Medgar ran for lieutenant governor and the prosecutor ran for governor on the same ticket. ...”
But Evers-Williams kept believing.
She thought the man accused of killing her husband, Byron De La Beckwith, would slip. She researched, she traveled and she stayed determined.
Eventually, with the help of a young reporter, she was able to present enough proof of jury tampering that the case was reopened.
“I received all kinds of verbal abuse for pursuing this over the years,” she said. “I was told I was a fool, I should let it go and many other things that aren’t printable for a newspaper, but I continued to work for my promise. That’s the whole thing, perseverance and keeping one’s promise. ... I kept my promise and as a result of that conviction, there have been at least 18 to 20 additional old civil rights cases that have reopened.”
Evers-Williams’ accomplishments and awards are too many to list. But while she was ensuring that her husband and his work were never forgotten, she made her own legacy.
In 1995, she was elected chairwoman of the NAACP. It was a tough time for the association and it was nearly defunct. Through her leadership, the organization once again became a reputable civil rights organization, according to Harmon.
“I’ve worked so hard and long to see that Medgar’s work is recognized and remembered,” Evers-Williams said. “In spite of all the accomplishments I’ve had in government and business and the private sector, I have not personally publicized my work and I’m very thankful to say I have been successful in all my endeavors in those particular fields.
“But they haven’t been highlighted, so to receive this award on my own accomplishments means a great deal to me.”
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