OPINION: Estimating (assessing) the impact or importance of Medgar W. Evers

By Ivory Phillips

JA Contributing Editor

While studying at the University of Washington, the writer was pleasantly surprised to walk past a public swimming pool named in honor of Medgar Wiley Evers. In less than a year later, he was again pleased when he heard the news that Medgar Evers College was the name given to a branch of the City University of New York (CUNY). 

The thought then occurred that Medgar Evers had long been too underestimated as a civil rights leader; that he had been too little appreciated as a martyr to the cause of human rights and racial justice. The saying also came to mind that a prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown.

The second thought soon began to vanish, however, as in quick succession people like Bennie G. Thompson and Henry Kirksey moved to have the main post office in Jackson named after Evers; people like Rev. Emmett C. Burns Jr., Jim Evans, Mrs. Ineva May Pittman, and Rev. L.D. Bass moved to have Jackson’s international airport named after Evers; and people like Kenneth I. Stokes and Charles W. Tisdale moved to have Delta Drive named Medgar Evers Boulevard. Alcorn State University and the town of Decatur also got in on the act, as the Civil Rights Trail Marker Campaign began.

Unfortunately, as is often the case when others are being honored, there have been critics who complained that Jackson has gone overboard; that Evers is not Jackson’s only civil rights hero; and that he overshadows other heroes and heroines. Considering the fact that Evers has long been left out of the discussion as people talked about the likes of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Rep. John Lewis, Ida B. Wells, and others, one can raise the question, “What would be an accurate estimation or assessment of the impact of a man like Medgar Evers?”

The task of estimating the impact and importance of this giant is no easy task. As a matter of fact, it is nearly impossible to undertake and do justice to such a task. Yet, it is important that we give it our best shot.

From the fall of 1954 until his assassination in June of 1963, Medgar Evers served as field secretary of the NAACP. Although that says a lot, it cannot begin to tell all that needs to be said. Being field secretary can account for his official affiliations and duties. But additional commentary is needed to talk about the nature of the man and how he actually functioned.

We can begin with the fact that Evers was a speaker who brought unusual logic, clarity, and common sense to issues like the need and the right to vote, the need for and the effectiveness of boycotts to deal with segregation and discrimination as in the cases of the state fair and the stores on Capitol Street, and the right to an education at the public schools and colleges of the state. These he backed-up by actually engaging in protests in Jackson, on the Gulf Coast beaches, at white-owned service stations, in the Leake County School District, and other places.

In addition to that, his fingerprints are all over the campaign to desegregate the white churches of Jackson, although the campaign to do so did not unfold until the summer after his assassination. The now famed Tougaloo Nine benefitted mightily from the advice and support of Evers. The same is true of James Meredith’s enrollment at the University of Mississippi. Although Meredith was quite a strong-willed and independent veteran, Evers was able to share with him his experience as one who had earlier tried to breach the University of Mississippi’s color barrier, to put him in touch with lawyers such as Constance Baker Motley and to encourage him every step of the way.

Another part of his NAACP job description, a part about which he was most enthusiastic and wherein he had great success, was working with the youth and college groups. It was from their ranks that Cleve McDowell rose up and became the first Black person to be admitted to the Ole Miss Law School; that Johnny Frazier developed the desire and courage to seek admission to Mississippi Southern College (USM); and from whose ranks came the likes of Rev. Emmett Burns, Dr. Joyce Ladner and her sister Dorie, Robert Walker, Bennie Thompson, Rosie Pearson, Hezekiah Watkins, Gene Young, Shirley Harrington, and Brenda Travis. Most of what was often called the Jackson Movement was made up of young people from Lanier High School, Jim Hill High School, Brinkley High School, Campbell College, Jackson State College, and Tougaloo College. It was those groups that led many protest marches in the area. These youth also often matured into leaders and activists who filled the ranks of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), Delta Ministries, and others.

In many ways the development of these young warriors was a reward for and a natural outcome of what had been planted and nurtured by Evers and Mrs. Ella Baker, in particular, as NAACP leaders. Baker and Evers were colleagues who particularly saw eye to eye on the matter of youth development and activism. Furthermore, by the early 1960s, Evers had become the main contact person for would-be civil rights activists coming to work here. His reputation was nationwide.

It should not be overlooked that Evers did not just spring forth as field director of the NAACP. He was specifically selected by his colleagues because of his prior work and demonstrated courage. Among other things, he had been the president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership, working with other courageous leaders, including Amzie Moore of Cleveland, Dr. Aaron E. Henry of Clarksdale, Dr. T.R.M. Howard of Mound Bayou, and Rev. George Lee of Belzoni. From these he obviously gained skills and wisdom as they did from him.

The same thing happened as he later worked with leaders from SNCC, CORE, SCLC, and other groups. The exchanges benefitted them all, making many civil rights projects the accomplishment of not a single individual, but what could rightly be claimed by many of them.

As we here attempt to estimate or assess the impact and importance of Evers, we dare not overlook his extraordinary work in investigating the disappearance and murder of Rev. George Lee, Emmett Till, and others of less notoriety. That work was most often a labor of love that demonstrated courage and that set a pattern for similar future endeavors.

Finally, as we look at Medgar Evers sixty-two years after we first met him, he looms as important and impactful as ever. In addition to all that has been said above, it was also due to Evers that we first heard major league baseball player Curt Flood and the issue of baseball free agency, Dr. Ralph Bunche and the rise of the African Liberation Movement, and Mrs. Gladys Noel Bates and the lawsuit for equal pay for Black teachers in Mississippi. Yes, Evers opened the door when many schools and colleges shied away from such topics and speakers for fear of reprisals.

It was due to Evers that many Black citizens found the courage to and took pride in joining the NAACP and the struggle for freedom. It was due to him that many even today embrace a desire to be like him in this righteous endeavor, with that full measure of intelligence, courage, and determination.

Herein we have attempted to not overestimate the work of Evers and certainly not to leave him underestimated, as has often been the case. We hope that this effort adds to what people know and appreciate about the man and his lifelong partner, Myrlie, realizing that perhaps much more could have been said. 

Therefore, if, like the writer, you are tasked with estimating or assessing the impact and importance of someone like Medgar Evers, embrace the opportunity and put your best effort, but realize your limitations. Only one who is omnipresent and omniscient can truly make that ultimate determination, but you will be rewarded by what you learn and for what you share.