Medgar Evers and Charles Evers Honored by Family, Politicians

By Vickie King

Mississippi Today

About 75 people gathered to honor the life of Medgar Evers on Saturday — exactly 58 years after he was assassinated at his home.

The event, held on June 12 each year, also honored Charles Evers, Medgar Evers’ brother and a notable longtime Mississippi politician, who died in July 2020 at the age of 97.

Before his assassination in 1963, Medgar Evers was one of the nation’s most prominent civil rights leader, working to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi, end the segregation of public facilities and expand voting rights for African Americans.

Evers family members, politicians and other notable community members spoke at the event on Saturday, held at the Medgar Evers home in west Jackson — now a national historic landmark.

Among those who spoke at the event included Medgar’s daughter Reena Evers-Everette, Charles’ daughter Carolyn Evers Cockrell, civil rights activist James Meredith, Mississippi state Sen. Hillman Frazier and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba.

• Civil Rights activist and author James Meredith listens as Reena Evers-Everette speaks on the legacy of her late father, slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers.
• Image of a young, U.S. Army private Medgar Evers.
• Reena Evers-Everette, daughter slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers, speaks of her father’s life and legacy during a memorial tribute held at their former residence Saturday morning in Jackson.
• Reena Evers-Everette, daughter slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers, speaks of her father’s life and legacy during a memorial tribute held at their former residence Saturday morning in Jackson.
• Reena Evers-Everette, daughter slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers, speaks of her father’s life and legacy during a memorial tribute held at their former residence Saturday morning in Jackson.
• Reena Evers-Everette, daughter slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers, during a memorial tribute for her father held at their former residence Saturday morning in Jackson.
• Pamela Junior, Two Mississippi Museums Director, talks of the legacy of slain civil Rights leader Medgar Evers during a memorial tribute held at the Evers’ family former residence, now a national historic landmark.
• Civil Rights activist James Meredith addresses those attending the memorial tribute for slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers.
• Family members, friends and local dignitaries gathered for a memorial tribute honoring the life and legacy of slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers.
• Senator Hillman Frazier speaks of the life and legacy of slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers during a memorial tribute for Evers Saturday morning in Jackson.
• National Park Service Ranger Keena Graham serves as the Superintendent of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, where a memorial tribute was held for the slain Civil Rights leader Saturday morning.
• Senator Hillman Frazier and Reena Evers-Everette, at the memorial tribute for slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers.
• U.S. Army Sgt. Neikolus Johnson plays “Taps” during the memorial tribute for slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers.
• Courtney Mack sings for those attending the memorial tribute for Medgar Evers held at his former residence Saturday morning in Jackson. Reena Evers-Everette (right), daughter of the slain Civil Rights leader, was among those in attendance.
• U.S. Army Sgt. Neikolus Johnson places a wreath at the former home of Medgar Evers during a memorial tribute honoring the slain Civil Rights leader.
• Family members, friends and local dignitaries gathered for a memorial tribute honoring the life and legacy of slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers.
• Family members, friends and local dignitaries gathered for a memorial tribute honoring the life and legacy of slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers.
• Family members, friends and local dignitaries gathered for a memorial tribute honoring the life and legacy of slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers.
• Corrie and Courtney Cockrell, grandnieces of Medgar Evers at the memorial tribute held in his honor.
• Family members of slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers at a memorial tribute held in his honor.
• Family members of Medgar Evers held a memorial tribute for the slain Civil Rights leader. Many also gathered at the Medgar Evers Library to place a wreath at his statue.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.