How Did Medgar Evers Impact The Civil Rights Movement

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Medgar Evers The murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers sparked a lot of outrage in the United States and impacted the Civil Rights Movement in some of its accomplishments. Evers was a well educated man and at the time of his murder in 1963, he was a civil rights activist in the NAACP. The Civil Rights Movement was about African Americans fighting for the same rights as Whites. Although most of his activism took place in Mississippi, Evers’ activism and his death impacted racial injustices that African Americans experienced throughout the United States. Medgar Evers was born on July 2, 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi. In 1943, he was drafted into the military and fought in WWII. (Medgar) He was discharged honorably in 1948 and returned …show more content…

Evers experienced injustice himself when he went to the University of Mississippi Law School in 1954. (NAACP) During that time, the university was segregated and Evers was rejected due to his skin color. He decided to volunteer for the NAACP to help desegregate the university. (Medgar) Although the NAACP filed a lawsuit, Evers was not admitted to the university. In May 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v Topeka Board of Education found that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, which was a major accomplishment to end racial …show more content…

(history.com.staff) His home was firebombed and a few days before he was murdered, he was nearly run down by a car as he was leaving the NAACP’s office in Jackson, Mississippi. He gave a televised speech in June 1963 regarding civil rights demonstrations that were taking place in Jackson at the time. After the televised speech, threats against Evers increased. On June 12, 1963, Evers attended a meeting with the NAACP and when he returned home, he was shot in the back while in his driveway. (Medgar) He died later that day in the hospital. Byron De La Beckwith was charged and arrested for Ever’s murder. He was tried twice after Evers’ death with a jury deadlocking each time. In 1994, De La Beckwith was tried again and he was convicted of Evers’ murder and was sentenced to life in prison. He died in prison in

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