Today marks the 54th anniversary of the death of WWII Veteran & Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers.
His death, along with that of 14-year old Emmet Till’s 1955 torture and murder, were seminal events in the Civil Rights Movement.
At 12:40 a.m., June 12, 1963, as he stood in the driveway of his home in Jackson, Mississippi, 37-year old Medgar Evers was shot in the back by a Ku Klux Klansman who used a high-powered rifle.
Though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, he died less than a hour later.
During WWII, Evers volunteered in the Army, and participated in the Normandy invasion. After tours of duty in France & Germany, Read the rest of this entry »