27 Facts About Myrlie Evers-Williams

Myrlie Louise Evers-Williams is an American civil rights activist and journalist who worked for over three decades to seek justice for the 1963 murder of her husband Medgar Evers, another civil rights activist.

Myrlie Evers-Williams served as chairwoman of the NAACP, and has published several books on topics related to civil rights and her husband's legacy.

Myrlie Evers-Williams was the daughter of James Van Dyke Beasley, a delivery man, and Mildred Washington Beasley, who was 16 years old.

Myrlie's parents separated when she was just a year old; her mother left Vicksburg but decided that Myrlie was too young to travel with her.

Since her maternal grandmother worked all day in service, with no time to raise a child, Myrlie Evers-Williams was raised by her paternal grandmother, Annie McCain Beasley, and an aunt, Myrlie Evers-Williams Beasley Polk.

Myrlie Evers-Williams attended the Magnolia school, took piano lessons, and performed songs, piano pieces or recited poetry at school, in church, and at local clubs.

Myrlie Evers-Williams graduated from Magnolia High School in 1950.

On her first day of school Myrlie Evers-Williams met and fell in love with Medgar Evers, a World War II veteran eight years her senior.

In Mound Bayou, Myrlie Evers-Williams worked as a secretary at the Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Domestic life was strained by her husband's formal application to law school as his parents were opposed, Myrlie Evers-Williams was expecting her second child, the family was financially restricted and unprepared for the increasing public exposure on his stealthy voting rights activities in the Delta.

When Medgar Evers became the Mississippi field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1954, Myrlie Evers-Williams worked alongside him.

Myrlie Evers-Williams became his secretary and together they organized voter registration drives and civil rights demonstrations.

Myrlie Evers-Williams assisted him as he struggled to end the practice of racial segregation in schools and other public facilities, and as he campaigned for the voting rights many African Americans were denied in the South.

Myrlie Evers-Williams earned her Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Pomona College.

Myrlie Evers-Williams spoke on behalf of the NAACP and in 1967 she co-wrote For Us, the Living, which chronicled her late husband's life and work.

Myrlie Evers-Williams helped secure money for many organizations such as the National Woman's Educational Fund, and worked with a group that provided meals to the poor and homeless.

Myrlie Evers-Williams continued to explore ways to serve her community and to work with the NAACP.

Myrlie Evers-Williams was the first black woman to serve as a commissioner on the board, a position she held for 8 years.

Myrlie Evers-Williams decided that the best way to help the organization was to run for chairperson of the board of directors.

Myrlie Evers-Williams won the position in 1995, just after her second husband's death due to prostate cancer.

Myrlie Evers-Williams helped improve its financial status, raising enough funds to eliminate its debt.

Myrlie Evers-Williams received many honors for her work, including being named Woman of the Year by Ms.

Myrlie Evers-Williams served as editor on The Autobiography of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, and Speeches.

In 2009, Myrlie Evers-Williams received the National Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.

In February 2012, Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, announced that Myrlie Evers-Williams would be serving as a distinguished scholar-in-residence.

On January 21,2013, Myrlie Evers-Williams delivered the invocation at the second inauguration of Barack Obama.

Myrlie Evers-Williams was the first woman and the first layperson to deliver the invocation at a presidential inauguration.