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Memorializing Medgar
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Medgar Evers was assassinated in 1963. National and local government leaders are seeking to honor the civil-rights leader's legacy.
by R.L. Nave
Feb. 10, 2012
It's unlikely that Medgar Evers will be forgotten for a very long time.
Evers, an NAACP field director who was assassinated outside his Jackson home in June 1963, has already been the subject of songs, films and books.
A native of Decatur, Miss., Evers organized boycotts and voter registration efforts and served as field secretary for the NAACP, working out of its Lynch Street office. He also served in the Army during World War II. Two all-white juries acquitted his assassin, Byron de la Beckwith, before a third jury finally convicted him in 1994.
In the capital city, the City Council renamed the airport and a street in his honor. The federal post office downtown is also named after Medgar Evers. Now the city of Jackson wants to place the Medgar Evers Historic District in West Jackson on the National Register of Historic Places. The city will apply for a $7,000 grant from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and put up an additional $7,000 in cash for the project.
According to a news release from the city, the funds will cover the $5,000 national registration fee and $9,000 for LED street signs to "enhance the gateway entrance for the Medgar Evers Neighborhood and serve as a unique feature to beautify the historic neighborhood and preserve its historic contexts."
Also in memory of the civil rights icon, the U.S. Navy launched the USNS Medgar Evers, a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ship. The 689-foot-long can deliver more than 20,000 pounds of food, ammunition, fuel and other goods to combat ships at sea.
Navy Secretary and former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus announced the honor in Jackson in 2009. Evers' widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, christened the ship in fall 2011.
posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/10/12 at 01:14 PM. [printer version] Share |
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