Determined – having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it.
When I think of Mr. Medgar Evers I think of determination, because he was determined to fight against racial inequality in the United States.
As an NAACP field secretary he became a target for those who were against racial equality and desegregation in America. As the first state field secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi, he recruited members throughout the state, as well as organized voter-registration efforts, demonstrations, and boycotts of white-owned companies that practiced discrimination.
Evers also worked to investigate crimes committed against blacks, the most well-known being the lynching of Emmett Till (14-year-old African-American boy who had allegedly been killed for talking to a white woman).
Because of his activism, he became one of the most well-known civil rights figures in the state of Mississippi, leading to threats and violent action against both he and his family. Mr. Evers was shot in the back in the driveway of his home in Jackson and died less than an hour later.
His wife, Myrlie continued to search for new evidence in the case of her husband’s murder since Beckwith, his murderer had been set free after two all-white juries deadlocked. In 1990, he was indicted for Evers’ murder and in 1994, nearly 31 years after Evers’ death, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Today, we thank Mr. Evers for his fight for racial equality. His determination inspires me to never give up and always see the bigger picture. Our country needs determined people like Mr. Evers and his wife Myrlie. You can kill a man but you can’t kill an idea. – Medgar Evers