In 1979, when asked to name three influential civil rights leaders, writer and activist James Baldwin came up with three names: Malcolm, Martin and Medgar.
While most Americans have likely learned about the legacy of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., the general public remains largely unaware of Medgar Evers’ work. Joy-Ann Reid, host of the primetime MSNBC show “The ReidOut” and New York Times best-selling author, is setting out to change that.
On Feb. 15, Reid spoke at Pomona College’s Bridges Auditorium as part of her book tour featuring “Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America.” The biography, which was published on Feb. 2, delves into the legacy of civil rights activists Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers-Williams PO ’68.
In “Medgar and Myrlie,” Reid details the beginning of Medgar’s involvement with the civil rights movement, his love story with his wife Myrlie, who is now 90 years old, his assassination and the impact of his wife’s fight for justice on his own work.
Medgar’s activism began during his military service in World War II, where he and many other Black servicemen were shocked at how differently they were treated compared to their white counterparts.
Eventually, Medgar’s career took him back to his home state of Mississippi, where he led the secret search for witnesses willing to come forward in the Emmett Till lynching case as an NAACP field officer. Till’s case became instrumental in raising awareness of domestic terrorism committed against Black Americans.
Reid emphasized the impact of Medgar’s work in Mississippi and in the civil rights movement as a whole.
“[He is] the connective tissue between these stories,” Reid said.
Reid was also upfront about the fact that Medgar didn’t work alone.
When Myrlie Evers-Williams (née Beasley) went off to college, she was instructed to stay away from three types of people: upperclassmen, football players and veterans. She would end up falling for a handsome Medgar, who was all three.
When it came to activism, Myrlie had a different mindset than that of her husband, Medgar. According to Reid, whereas Medgar was taught to “fight inequality,” Myrlie was taught to “withstand” how things were.
While supportive of Medgar’s work, Myrlie was concerned for his safety because Mississippi was one of the most hostile states towards Black people. Still, Medgar insisted on staying in Mississippi. He loved his state, even if his state did not love him, Reid said.
It wasn’t until the Evers’ home was firebombed on May 28, 1963 that Myrlie became emboldened to fight for justice alongside Medgar. As she argued with police to save her home from the fire amidst mounting death threats towards her husband, she came to a crucial realization.
“[Myrlie] understood that he was not going to make it out of this fight but she would have to make it for him,” Reid said.
“The game being played has not been completed,” Myrlie said. “[At least not until] America becomes whatever America says she is.”
Medgar was assassinated on June 12, 1963 at his home in Jackson, Mississippi.
Myrlie is considered the first civil rights-era widow to be publicized. She worked for three decades to seek justice for her late husband, fighting to convict Medgar’s murderer, Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beck, after he was acquitted by an all-white jury in 1964.
Myrlie, who graduated from Pomona College in 1968, has since authored numerous books on civil rights, served as chairwoman of the NAACP and was the first-ever woman to deliver an inaugural invocation at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013.
In 1964, a year after his death, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act on Medgar’s birthday.
Pomona Black Student Union president Precious Omomofe PO ’24, who gave the welcoming remarks at the event, expressed admiration for Myrlie’s activism as well as for Medgar and Myrlie’s love for eachother.
“I [am] genuinely in awe of her, the things she’s done and, even at 90, continues to do,” Omomofe said. “She changed so many people’s lives [and] risked her life to continue the work of her late husband. It was inspiring to see a pure Black love story. Myrlie truly supported Medgar and without her, he couldn’t have made a long-lasting impact and vice versa.”
Towards the end of the talk, Reid turned towards the audience and announced that Myrlie wanted to have a word. To the collective shock of the auditorium, Myrlie, who was not announced to have been in attendance, stood up from the audience and received a standing ovation.
Myrlie’s inspirational words geared up a new generation of activists.
“The game being played has not been completed,” Myrlie said. “[At least not until] America becomes whatever America says she is.”
When asked what she believed Medgar would think of our current political situation, Reid said that he would be “supportive” of organizations such as Black Lives Matter but “disappointed [that] we still have to” stand up to injustice.
“If America doesn’t get it together, the [United States] will go to hell,” Reid chimed in, quoting Martin Luther King Jr. She also shared later that she is in awe of the younger American generation’s bravery in showing solidarity with those who are oceans away.
Omomofe reflected on Myrlie and Reid’s words at Bridges Auditorium as well as Myrlie’s work in general.
“No one could relate to her experience initially, being the first widow of a prominent civil right activist, she just gets going,” Omomofe said. “She found her motivation and drive amidst her grief but never let the grief get to her. To me, this can be applied to many different aspects of a person’s life. Don’t give up until you see the change that you want to happen.”
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