In the summer of 1950 Medgar Evers was a 25 year old Black man who was wise and experienced well beyond his years. Growing up in a segregated small town in Mississippi he was taught, from a young age, how to address and act around White people in order to stay alive, lessons which were made very clear when he and his older brother watched as a friend of their father's was publicly lynched for daring to speak back to a White woman, a traumatic experience which was relived by them nearly every day for a year, as his bloodied clothes were hung on a fence and left there by the very fine people who beat him to death. Fortunately their father, James, was one of the most respected Black men in Decatur, Mississippi, as he refused to tolerate unfair treatment from White people in town, who were too afraid to challenge him.

Medgar served admirably during World War II, and he experienced a taste of freedom while serving in France, even having a White French girlfriend who loved him, along with her family. After careful consideration he decided to return to Mississippi instead of staying in France, despite knowing that he would return to the same viciously segregated Deep South that steadfastly refused to permit the thousands of returning Black soldiers the same rights as Americans that they received as foreigners abroad. He and his brother attempted to register to vote in 1946 but were challenged by a large White mob that was ready to lynch them, and they decided to withdraw instead of facing violent and certain deaths.

Medgar enrolled at Alcorn A&M College, now Alcorn State University, one of the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that were founded during Reconstruction, where he was a star halfback on the football team, an even better student, and an attractive potential mate to the female students on campus. Despite the attention from others his eyes were set on Myrlie Beasley, a freshman from Vicksburg, Mississippi who was eight years his junior. The two quickly fell in love, formed a lasting bond, and were married the following year.

After he graduated from Alcorn A&M, Medgar worked for a life insurance company in Mount Bayou, Mississippi, the oldest Black-owned town in the country, and while there he began working for the NAACP, where he was tasked as the field secretary for the state, with a primary responsibility of getting people to join the organization. His interactions with Black residents of the Mississippi Delta, many of whom lived in extreme poverty under conditions that were reminiscent of sharecroppers of the post-Reconstruction era, convinced him that voter registration and the fight for civil rights were far more than NAACP membership to improve their living standards, which put him at odds with the staunchly conservative leadership of Roy Wilkins and senior NAACP officials. For the remainder of his life he battled to achieve national and local goals simultaneously, bolstered by the enthusiastic efforts of the sit-in protests in Greensboro and Nashville, the Freedom Rides of 1961, and local efforts to desegregate stores and other places in Jackson, the state capital, where he had moved to, along with Myrlie and their three young children.

Unfortunately his efforts in Mississippi, in particular a television interview for a local television station that was taped in June of 1963 made him a household name and put a bull’s eye on his back for the most ardent segregationists and local chapters of the Ku Klux Klan. The stress of his dual roles, along with fears for the safety of himself and his family, took a significant toll on his life, and his marriage. Myrlie also feared that her beloved husband would be killed if he didn’t curtail his efforts, but she stood steadfastly beside him, especially when he told her that he was doing this to provide better lives for their children and all Black Mississippians.

On June 11, 1963, President Kennedy, who was initially a reluctant supporter of the civil rights movement, addressed the nation by radio and television, and gave what was to that point the strongest speech in support for equal rights for all citizens, and promised that he would ask Congress to enact legislation to ensure that full integration would take place throughout the country. Later that evening Medgar attended a meeting of local civil rights leaders that extended well into the night, and, exhausted but hopeful, he drove home, arriving just after midnight. As he exited his car he was shot once in the back by a local member of the KKK, Byron De La Beckwith. Although he was critically injured no ambulances came to the Evers home, his care in the segregated wing of the city’s main hospital was delayed, and he died early that morning.

Much of the country, and the world, was stunned and angered by this cold-blooded murder, which accelerated the determination of the Kennedy administration, Congress, civil rights leaders, and private citizens of good will to work towards a truly equal society. Unfortunately much more blood was shed during that year and later in the 1960s, and this country’s promise has yet to be achieved.

Myrlie Evers, instead of retreating into private life and focusing on the care of her children, took up her husband’s mantle by tirelessly working to ensure that his murderer finally received the justice he deserved, although that didn’t occur until 30 years later, and continuing the push for equality. Her story wasn’t as well known as Medgar’s was to me, although I did know that she delivered the invocation for President Barack Obama after he was elected to a second term of office in 2012, making her the first woman and the first layperson to perform that duty. She worked for years within the NAACP, putting it on stable financial status for the first time in many years, although much of her efforts were curtailed by the stodgy and patriarchal leadership within the organization.

“Medgar & Myrlie” is an absolutely superb and compelling addition to the story of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, which provides a more detailed look into the lives of two key figures, and elevates them to the high status that they both deserve. Highly recommended! ( )