Civil rights Activist during the Civil Rights Movement who advocated against segregation and was the first field secretary for the Mississippi chapter of the NAACP. The fact that the trial of his murderer, Byron De La Beckwith, resulted in two hung juries caused much anger in the African American community.
He was an insurance salesman after earning his Bachelor of Arts from Alcorn College, a historically black institution, in 1952.
His murder and the resulting trials inspired civil rights protests, as well as numerous works of art including Bob Dylan's 1963 song "Only a Pawn in Their Game".
He was the child of James and Jesse Evers, and had four brothers and sisters. He was married to Myrlie Evers.
He was assassinated hours after John F. Kennedy's speech supporting civil rights.
