Medgar Evers joined the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1948 and six years later in 1954 he became the NAACP state field secretary. The NAACP fought against racial discrimination and segregation. As state field secretary, Evers protested Emmett Till’s death and many other unjust cases. He also fought for African American voting rights and helped an African American man named James Meredith successfully enroll at the University of Mississippi. A Hidden Leader
Evers was plenty aware that he was a target for white segregationists. In fact, he taught his children to get low and take cover if they ever heard gunfire, and he always got out of his car on the right side where it was safer for him to get out. However, after an NAACP meeting on June 12, 1963, he accidently got out on the driver’s side where the assassin, Byron De La Beckwith, was waiting across the road to execute him. The Evers Family was in their home when he was shot, and they ducked and took cover like they were taught. After Evers' death, a jury of all white men reached a verdict that Beckwith was not guilty.
The killer of Medgar Evers, Byron De La Beckwith, wasn’t actually proven guilty of the assassination of Mr. Evers until 30 years later. The first jury was all white which created a biased trial and Beckwith got away with the murder. The case would have ended there if it wasn’t for evidence of jury-tampering given by a local newspaper called the Clarion-Ledger. One of the prison guards also overheard Beckwith say that "Killing that n***** didn't cause me any more discomfort than our wives feel when they have a baby." 30 years later, a new jury with eight black people was chosen and Beckwith was proven guilty and charged with life in prison.
After Medgar Evers died, his name became more known throughout the nation, and he was one of first black civil rights leader to be assassinated. Many saw him as a hero for the plethora of actions that he did to stand out and make an impact on civil rights. For his fight for civil rights, he was awarded NAACP’s Spingarn medal. Since Evers also fought in World War II, he was buried with full military honor. The U.S. Navy also has a vessel named after him. It is the first Navy Vessel to be named after a civil rights leader.
There still have been multiple hate crimes many years after the movement on the campus that Mr. Evers fought for the best education. In 2014, two men hung a noose around the neck of the James Meredith statue and draped an old Georgia flag on his shoulders. In 2000, the college had just decided to ban confederate flags from being waved by spectators at sports events.