A Letter to Medgar Evers
I am proud of you – for everything you accomplished, not only for your family,
but also the community standing up for you. Ever since we were children, I knew your
determination would change the world in some way. Although you may not be around
anymore to read this letter, just remember how proud you made everyone, and how
much changed you produced! I still remember hearing the gunshots ring through the
neighborhood on June 12th, 1963, a night that will forever stay with me (O’Brien 246).
I remember the weekly Sunday church services we would attend together,
reminding us to never bring about hate towards others (O’Brien 6). I still believe that
your mother was the reason you loved so many and was so determined to bring racial
segregation to an end; she hated the hate people had toward others, no matter how
bad she had it too. I remember walking miles and miles to and from school, so that we
can get our high school diploma. I am proud of you for moving on to join the Army,
while I stayed back to care for my family, and look after yours, as I know you would do
the same for me (Murray). When you returned from war, you talked about your new
friendship with a white lieutenant, who gave you some very powerful words –
essentially, find a way to make a difference (O’Brien 8).
Little did that lieutenant know how much of a difference you really were going to make.
By joining the NAACP, you had others that were striving to make a difference, which
helped you with your ideas. Without this group of people, who knows if you would have
applied for University of Mississippi’s law school as the first black male (O’Brien 12).
This was a turning point for you, as you became a prime member of the NAACP. It was
in Jackson, Mississippi where the experienced inequalities really took place – blacks
were treated horribly. It was unbearable to hear what you and your family went through
during these times – seeing murders, investigating hateful crimes, and violence
(O’Brien 15). I remember stopping into your NAACP building to have a conversation
with you during a hard time; you were a great friend, who always was positive and
encouraging.
Although you were doing the right thing to fight against segregation for our community, I
was, at times, scared for your family because of the hate people had towards you and
the black community. With you as one of the leaders in different demonstrations, you
were a key target to the white groups that were against what you were preaching. I
know you talked about death often, which is why I was always scared; I did not want to
lose a childhood friend, let alone an amazing husband to Myrlie and an amazing father
to your children (Murray).
It was the beginning of June of 1963 when I saw you on the television for the first time,
speaking about the Jackson movement. Although you did not get much time, it was
enough time to bring light to what this movement was about. It was a few nights later,
on June 12th, when President John F. Kennedy gave a speech on television to
demonstrate his support for civil rights. This was also the same night you were
tragically killed in your front year after coming home late; your family was waiting up for
you, and experienced the gruesome event (Murray). I could not believe what had
happened right in your front yard. Your family, friends, and even people that did not
know you, came together to honor what you had done for everyone. President
Kennedy and his administration brought about the idea to have you buried in the
Arlington National Cemetery. With this idea came some backlash; although you might
be honored, many people thought this idea was used as a way to hide the real issue –
the racial
inequality and issues that the United States were having (Orejel 39). Just know that
people are still fighting for you and our community, and your legacy is only the
beginning of a change. It is amazing to see the changes and differences you made for
the black community! Your honor and legacy will live on, as someone with many firsts
and as someone who fought selflessly to give others what they deserve. From your life,
people will remember you in American History for being a true leader in the Jackson
Movement, as you brought the President’s attention to civil rights from the different
demonstrations you put together. Look at what we lived through – poverty, segregation,
and fear. Many people, still to this day, think about the myth that people living in poverty
cannot make a difference in the world. Well, your life is a prime example of how this is
not accurate. Not only did you overcome so many obstacles, but you made a difference
for the people that could not. Voices are now heard, and many aspects of life are
changing. The Help, a movie based on racial segregation and inequality, showed many
different parts of life that African Americans faced, and included a scene about your
death in it; two women watched the scene from a television, scared for their lives, as
this was another event that continued to demonstrate the issues taking place in the
country (Graham 54).
Even though you experienced the worst starting at a young age, you were seen
as a hero and leader to a movement. I am proud to continue to call you a great
childhood friend, and I know everyone you surrounded yourself with is very proud of
you too! Continue to watch over us, and see all of the changes you have started.
Works Cited
Graham, Allison. “‘We Ain’t Doin’ Civil Rights’: The Life and Times of a Genre, as
Told in The Help.” Southern Cultures, vol. 20, no. 1, 2014, pp. 51–64.
JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/26217339. Accessed 31 Jan. 2021.
Murray, Paul T. "Medgar Evers." The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives,
Thematic Series: The 1960s, edited by William L. O'Neill and Kenneth T.
Jackson, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. Gale In Context:
Biography,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/K3436600166/BIC?u=lincclin_hcc&sid=BIC&xid=b74
85dc3. Accessed 31 Jan. 2021.
O’Brien, M. J. We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth’s Sit-In and the
Movement It Inspired. University Press of Mississippi, 2013. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=543145&authtype
=shib& site=ehost-live.
Orejel, Keith. “The Federal Government’s Response to Medgar Evers’s Funeral.”
Southern Quarterly, vol. 49, no. 2/3, Winter/Spring2012 2012, pp. 37–54.
EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=a9h&AN=85
882790 &site=eds-live.