The Autobiography of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, and Speeches

(Paperback)

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The Autobiography of Medgar Evers is the first and only comprehensive collection of the words of slain civil rights hero Medgar Evers. Evers became a leader of the civil rights movement during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He established NAACP chapters throughout the Mississippi delta region, and eventually became the NAACPs first field secretary in Mississippi. Myrlie Evers-Williams, Medgars widow, partnered with Manning Marable, one of the countrys leading black scholars, to develop this book based on the previously untouched cache of Medgars personal documents and writings. These writings range from Medgars monthly reports to the NAACP to his correspondence with luminaries of the time such as Robert Carter, General Counsel for the NAACP in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. Still, most moving of all, is the preface written by Myrlie Evers.

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"Once the leader in the number of lynchings in America, today Mississippi leads in the number of elected black officials. It's part of Medgar Evers' legacy--paid for in blood--and stamped on the lives of Mississippians, from the state capitol of Jackson to the cornfields of Newton County where Medgar Evers grew up."

Author Bio

Myrlie Evers-Williams is the widow of slain civil rights hero Medgar Evers and former chairwoman of the NAACP. She has continued the work of her late husband, and her tireless efforts to bring about social change have kept his memory alive. Myrlie Evers-Williams lives in Bend, Oregon. Manning Marable is Professor of History, Political Science, and Public Policy, at Columbia University. Marable lives in New York City.