Medgar Wiley Evers was born near Decatur, Newton County, Mississippi, on July 2, 1925. He was the son of James and Jessie Evers of Newton County. The couple had five other children: Charles, Elizabeth, Eva Lee, Gene, and Mary Ruth. Evers attended elementary school in Decatur and high school in nearby Newton. In 1943, he left the eleventh grade to enlist in a segregated port battalion of the United States Army, which was later deployed to England, France, and Belgium during World War II. Between 1946 and 1948, Evers completed his secondary education at a laboratory high school affiliated with Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College, Lorman, Jefferson County, Mississippi. In 1948, Evers enrolled at Alcorn where he was active in campus activities and sports. He married classmate Myrlie Louise Beasley of Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi, on December 24, 1951. With financial assistance provided by a football scholarship and the GI bill, Evers graduated from Alcorn with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1952.

Soon after graduation, Evers and his wife, Myrlie, moved to Mound Bayou, Bolivar County, Mississippi. There, he worked as an agent for the Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Company. The couple’s first child, Darrell Kenyatta Evers, was born on June 30, 1953, and their daughter, Reena Denise Evers, was born on September 13, 1954. While living in Mound Bayou, Evers organized branches of the NAACP in the Delta and began recruiting new members. He also helped to promote a boycott of gas stations refusing to provide restrooms for African-Americans traveling in the Delta.

Evers applied for admission to the law school of the University of Mississippi, Oxford, Lafayette County, in 1954, but his application was denied. However, his attempt to enroll attracted the attention of national NAACP officials, and in December 1954, Medgar Evers became Mississippi field secretary of the NAACP. After opening the NAACP field office in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, in January 1955, Evers began traveling across the state to encourage parents of African-American students to file petitions with local school boards. The petitions requested the enforcement of the landmark 1954 United States Supreme Court decision in Oliver L. Brown, et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, et al., which ordered public-school desegregation. Evers collected affidavits from victims of racially motivated incidents and monitored and reported on state and local activities of the White Citizens’ Councils. He also investigated the lynching murders of African-Americans, including Emmett Till in 1955 and Mack Charles Parker in 1959.

Although previously unaffiliated with any religious denomination, Evers became a member of the New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson in 1956. He bought a new home on Guynes Street (now Margaret Walker Alexander Drive) in Jackson in 1957. Because the public schools in Jackson remained segregated, Darrell and Reena Evers began attending Christ the King Catholic School in the late 1950s. A second son, James Van Dyke Evers, was born in 1960.

Upon the invitation of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Evers attended the first meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1957. Evers was elected as secretary of the SCLC but was unable to serve because of conflict-of-interest issues with the NAACP. In 1961, Medgar Evers, Aaron Henry, and others established the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), which was responsible for coordinating the activities of various affiliated civil-rights organizations operating in Mississippi.

In 1958, in Meridian, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, Evers attempted the integration of a bus that was bound for Jackson. Initially removed from the front seat of the bus by police officers, Evers later re-boarded it, only to be assaulted by a white taxicab driver who had forced his way onto the bus. However, Evers managed to return to Jackson--at the front of the bus.

Evers was cited for contempt of court in 1960 for publicly denouncing as a mockery of justice the trial, conviction, and sentence of Clyde Kennard. During the late 1950s, Kennard had unsuccessfully sought admission to the segregated Mississippi Southern College (University of Southern Mississippi) in Hattiesburg, Forrest County.

By the early 1960s, Evers was promoting acts of passive resistance by African-Americans to hasten the end of segregation in Mississippi. He staged “sit-ins” at public libraries and parks, on buses, and at lunch counters, especially in Jackson. During 1961, Evers assisted the Freedom Riders who planned to integrate buses traveling through Mississippi. He also organized the picketing of white-only businesses in Jackson. Evers endorsed other forms of passive resistance such as the community-wide boycotting of buses in Jackson. He even called for boycotting the Mississippi state fair, which had segregated days for African-Americans. Evers assisted James Meredith in his attempt to enroll at the University of Mississippi in 1962.

Medgar Evers also sought to end public-school segregation through the courts. When the Jackson school board ignored integration petitions filed by Evers and several other complainants, the petitioners were included in a 1963 federal district court lawsuit to integrate public schools in Mississippi.

By May 1963, the NAACP was demanding that Jackson mayor Allen Thompson hire black workers, integrate public facilities, and remove white-only signs from public buildings. After Thompson rejected the demands of the NAACP, Evers filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission in order to receive equal airtime on a local television station. He called for a community-wide boycott of white-owned businesses in Jackson.

An unknown arsonist firebombed the Evers home in late May 1963, but no family members were injured. Evers and several hundred demonstrators continued the picketing of white-owned businesses in Jackson, although many were arrested by police officers for restraint-of-trade violations.

Early in the morning of June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers was assassinated by white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith of Greenwood, Leflore County, Mississippi. More than four thousand people attended the Evers funeral service at the Masonic Temple on Lynch Street in Jackson on June 15, 1963. Over twenty-five thousand people viewed the remains of Evers prior to his burial with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on June 19, 1963. The murder of Evers, widely covered in the print media and on television, elicited a tremendous outpouring of sympathy, concern, and outrage that was expressed in the numerous cards, letters, and telegrams sent to Myrlie Evers from individuals throughout the world. The NAACP posthumously awarded Evers its highest honor, the Spingarn Medal, on July 4, 1963. It was accepted on his behalf by Myrlie Evers. Charles Evers succeeded his brother as Mississippi field secretary of the NAACP.

On June 23, 1963, Byron De La Beckwith was charged with the murder of Evers. The first murder trial of De La Beckwith began in January 1964, and it ended in a mistrial in February. The second murder trial of De La Beckwith began in April 1964, and it also ended in a mistrial later that month.

In 1990, a Hinds County grand jury indicted De La Beckwith for the 1963 murder of Evers. This was primarily due to the continuing efforts of Myrlie Evers-Williams to seek justice for the murder of Medgar Evers; the journalistic research of Clarion-Ledger staff writer Jerry Mitchell in the records of the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission; the legal research of Hinds County assistant district attorney Bobby DeLaughter; and the willingness of Hinds County district attorney Ed Peters to re-prosecute the case. De La Beckwith was subsequently arrested at his home in Signal Mountain, Hamilton County, Tennessee, and he pleaded innocent at his arraignment in 1991. Despite objections from De La Beckwith’s attorneys that he was denied a speedy trial, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled four to three that a trial could proceed in 1992. De La Beckwith was convicted of the murder of Medgar Evers in 1994, and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the murder conviction in 1997. The United States Supreme Court refused to hear De La Beckwith’s appeal in 1998. De La Beckwith died in prison in 2001.

Myrlie Louise Beasley was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on March 17, 1933. She was the daughter of James Van Dyke and Mildred Washington Beasley. The couple separated about a year after their daughter’s birth. Myrlie Beasley was initially raised by her grandmother, Annie McCain Beasley. In 1943, Myrlie Beasley and her grandmother moved in with her aunt, Myrlie Beasley (Mrs. John Decatur) Polk. Myrlie Louise Beasley graduated from Magnolia High School (Bowman High School) in Vicksburg in 1950. She was also a member of the Chansonettes, a girls’ vocal group from Mount Heroden Baptist Church in Vicksburg, during her high-school years.

In 1950, Myrlie Beasley enrolled at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College in Lorman, Mississippi. There, she majored in education, minored in music, and was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority before marrying classmate Medgar Evers in 1951. Leaving Alcorn after her sophomore year in 1952, Myrlie Evers moved with her husband to Mound Bayou where she worked as a secretary with the Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Company. Her son, Darrell Kenyatta Evers (b. 1953), and her daughter, Reena Denise Evers (b. 1954), were born in Mound Bayou.

Myrlie Evers accompanied her husband to Jackson after he was appointed Mississippi field secretary of the NAACP in 1954. She was also hired by the NAACP as the secretary of Medgar Evers. During this time, Myrlie Evers balanced the responsibilities of her NAACP job with the demands of caring for a growing family, including a second son, James Van Dyke (b. 1960).

Following the assassination of Medgar Evers, Myrlie, Darrell, and Reena Evers met with President John F. Kennedy at the White House on June 20, 1963. Myrlie Evers was unable to participate in the landmark civil-rights march on Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963, due to her commitment to address the National Convention of Negro Elks in Boston, Massachusetts.

In July 1964, Myrlie Evers and her three children moved to Claremont, California. There, she enrolled at Pomona College and majored in sociology.

Scope and Content:

This collection currently includes Evers and Beasley family papers dating from the early 1900s to around July 1964, when Myrlie Evers and her children moved to Claremont, California. It is divided into the following subgroups: papers of Medgar Evers as Mississippi field secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; family papers of Medgar Evers; papers of Myrlie Evers; and records relating to the case of the State of Mississippi v. Byron De La Beckwith.

Medgar Evers’s papers as Mississippi field secretary of the NAACP consist of minutes, correspondence, correspondence registers, telegrams, speeches, annual reports, monthly reports, financial records, petitions, photographs, programs, news releases, newsletters, newsclippings, subject files, and posters. These files document the tenure of Evers as NAACP field secretary in Mississippi from 1954 until his death on June 12, 1963. They provide evidence of the leadership Evers offered to African-Americans in their struggle for civil rights and racial equality in a segregated Mississippi. These files also reveal how closely Evers worked with national, state, and local NAACP leaders to facilitate organizational goals in Mississippi during the early years of the civil-rights movement.

The family papers of Medgar Evers include business and personal correspondence, postcards, funeral records, a memorial file, financial records, personal records, travel records, a certificate, a program, publications, photographs, negatives, Christmas cards, and audio recordings. This group of personal papers reflects the activities and interests of Medgar Evers; his wife, Myrlie Evers; their children, Darrell Kenyatta Evers, Reena Denise Evers, and James Van Dyke Evers; as well as other Evers or Beasley family members living in Decatur, Jackson, or Vicksburg, Mississippi, from the early 1900s to the early 1960s.

Myrlie Evers’s papers consist of business and personal correspondence, greeting cards, sympathy correspondence, sympathy cards, sympathy telegrams, press-service clippings, news clippings, speeches, financial records, travel records, school papers, programs, lyrics and musical scores, and publications. These papers mainly concern the efforts of Evers to rebuild her life after the murder of Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963. Especially poignant are the letters, cards, and telegrams expressing condolences upon the death of her husband, which were sent by individuals throughout the world up until the time Evers moved to Claremont, California, in 1964. Also documented is Evers’s sustained involvement in the NAACP and her work at the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) and the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), which she helped found.

The records relating to the case of the State of Mississippi v. Byron De La Beckwith (1964) include photocopies of criminal-offense reports, witness files, subpoenas, evidence files, motions and orders, and a memorandum book. The records pertaining to the case of the State of Mississippi v. Byron De La Beckwith (1994) include photocopies of court-case files, pleadings, a security consultant’s report, and a Ku Klux Klan-related file. There are also digital photoprints of scenes from the 1994 Byron De La Beckwith trial. This material was apparently assembled by Myrlie Evers for reference purposes around the time of the 1994 trial.

Subgroup and Series Identification:

Subgroup 1: Medgar Evers, Mississippi Field Secretary, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Papers

• Series 1: Minutes. 1955-1959; n.d.

  This series consists of a bound minute book and one folder of loose minutes of Jackson, Mississippi, branch meetings of the NAACP between 1955 and 1959.

  Box 1, folders 1-2

• Series 2: Correspondence, etc. 1954-1963; n.d.
  This series consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence of field secretary Medgar Evers with national secretary Roy Wilkins and other NAACP officials. Also included are letters of Evers regarding annual conventions, investigations, litigation, and the special relief fund of the NAACP. Of interest is the correspondence of Evers regarding reported instances of assault and battery, civil-rights denial, economic reprisal, police brutality, segregation, and voting discrimination against African-Americans in Mississippi. Of further interest is the correspondence of Evers concerning the murders of George W. Lee and Emmett Till and the denials of admission of Clyde Kennard to Mississippi Southern College (University of Southern Mississippi) and James H. Meredith to the University of Mississippi. There are letters to Evers from civil-rights leaders such as Julian Bond and Thurgood Marshall. Other letters to Evers pertain to the White Citizens’ Councils, the United States Commission on Civil Rights, and the United States Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights.
  Box 2, folders 1-34

• Series 3: Correspondence Registers. 1955.
  This series consists of registers of correspondence received or sent by field secretary Medgar Evers between April and October 1955. The incoming registers contain the sender’s name, date received, and a brief summary of each letter’s contents. The outgoing registers contain the recipient’s name, date sent, and a brief summary of each letter’s contents.
  Box 2, folders 35-36

• Series 4: Telegrams. 1961.
  This series consists of carbon typescripts of telegrams apparently received or sent by field secretary Medgar Evers between May and September 1961. There is a May 19, 1961, telegram of Evers protesting United States secretary of agriculture Orville L. Freeman’s plans to address the Delta Council at a May 25, 1961, meeting on the Delta State College (Delta State University) campus in Cleveland, Mississippi. A September 19, 1961, telegram of Evers inquires whether Standard Oil Company of Kentucky president William C. Smith’s plans to locate a $125 million oil refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, were influenced by Governor Ross R. Barnett’s segregationist policies.
  Box 2, folder 37

• Series 5: Speeches. 1955-1963; n.d.
  This series consists of typewritten speeches of individuals associated with the NAACP or the civil-rights movement generally, including Samuel Bailey, Medgar Evers, Aaron E. Henry, C. O. Inge, Edwin King, Clarence Mitchell, Robert L. T. Smith, and Roy Wilkins. There is also a speech of Alabama senator John Sparkman. The speeches date from 1955 to 1963.
  Box 2, folder 38

• Series 6: Annual Reports. 1954-1957.
  This series consists of typewritten annual reports of the activities of field secretary Medgar Evers to the NAACP; annual reports of Evers to the Mississippi State Conference of NAACP Branches; annual reports of the president of the Mississippi State Conference of NAACP Branches; and annual reports of out-of-state NAACP conferences.
  Box 2, folders 39-42

• Series 7: Monthly Reports. 1955-1961.
  This series consists of typewritten monthly reports of field secretary Medgar Evers to the NAACP; monthly reports of national secretary Roy Wilkins to the board of directors of the NAACP; and monthly reports of the Washington bureau of the NAACP.
  Box 2, folders 43-45

• Series 8: Financial Records. 1956-1963.
  This series consists of budgets, financial reports, receipts, and other records of the Mississippi State Conference of NAACP Branches, which was headquartered in Jackson. The financial records date from 1956 to 1963.
  Box 2, folders 46-50

• Series 9: Petitions. ca. 1955; n.d.
  This series consists of petitions signed by Hinds and Warren county residents, which were submitted to various school boards in those counties around 1955. The petitions, seeking the immediate desegregation of public schools in Mississippi, followed the landmark United States Supreme Court school-desegregation case, Oliver L. Brown, et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, et al., in 1954. They were apparently gathered at the behest of local branches of the NAACP in Hinds and Warren counties.
  Box 2, folder 51

• Series 10: Photographs. 1958-1963.
  This series consists of black-and-white photographs, including panoramic images of the NAACP National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, from June 20-26, 1960; the NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund and Awards Dinner in Chicago, Illinois, on July 5, 1963; and the March for Jobs and Freedom at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. There is also an NAACP-credited image of outhouses at the Sweet Rest School for Negroes in Rankin County, Mississippi, in 1958.
  Box 2, folder 52
  Box 31, folder 1 (oversize)

• Series 11: Program. 1962.
  This series consists of Medgar Evers’s souvenir program of the tenth-anniversary meeting of the Southeast Regional Conference of the NAACP, which was held at the Masonic Temple on Lynch Street in Jackson, Mississippi, from February 22-25, 1962.
  Box 2, folder 53

• Series 12: News Releases. 1955-1964; n.d.
  This series consists of news releases issued by the Mississippi state or national NAACP offices from 1955 to 1964. They document NAACP activities at the state, regional, and national levels during the early years of the civil-rights movement.
  Box 3, folders 1-2

• Series 13: Newsletters. 1957-1958.
  This series consists of scattered newsletters edited by field secretary Medgar Evers. The newsletters detail NAACP activities and progress in Mississippi in 1957 and 1958.
  Box 3, folder 3

• Series 14: News Clippings. 1955-1963; n.d.
  This series consists of news clippings pertaining to the segregationist activities of the White Citizens’ Councils; the murders of Lamar Smith and Emmett Till; and miscellaneous subjects.
  Box 3, folders 4-7

• Series 15: Subject Files. ca. 1950s-1960s.
  This series consists of alphabetically arranged subject files pertaining to the activities of the NAACP at the state, regional, and national levels. For subject-file titles, see Appendix 1: Box and Folder List.
  Box 3, folders 8-35

• Series 16: Posters. ca. 1959-1963.
  This series consists of three different NAACP membership-recruitment posters dating from around 1959 to 1963.
  Box 31, folder 2 (oversize)

Subgroup 2: Medgar Evers and Family Papers

• Series 17: Correspondence (Evers Family). ca. 1950s-1960s.
  This series consists of correspondence of Medgar and Myrlie Evers regarding financial and legal matters, insurance policies, and miscellaneous topics during the 1950s and 1960s. Of interest are correspondence files regarding the Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Company; the United Co-Op--Diamond Valley Ranch, São Paulo, Brazil; the Veterans Administration; and the Workmen’s Compensation Commission.
  Box 3, folders 36-43

• Series 18: Postcards. ca. 1950s-1960s.
  This series consists of color postcards (blank) from out-of-state motels in which Medgar or Myrlie Evers might have stayed while traveling during the 1950s and 1960s.
  Box 3, folder 44

• Series 19: Funeral Papers (Medgar Evers). 1963.
  This series consists of various papers relating to the funeral and burial of Medgar Evers in June 1963. Included are floral cards and a summary floral record from the funeral home and papers relating to the funeral and burial of Evers in Arlington National Cemetery.
  Box 3, folders 45-47

• Series 20: Memorial File (Medgar Evers). 1963-1964; n.d.
  This series consists of a variety of printed materials memorializing Medgar Evers, who was murdered by Byron De La Beckwith in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 12, 1963. Included are broadsides, poetry, programs, statements, and other items from the NAACP and other organizations.
  Box 3, folder 48

• Series 21: Financial Records (Evers Family). ca. 1950s-1960s.
  This series consists of a variety of financial records pertaining to the Medgar Evers family, including bank books, loan papers, pay stubs and vouchers, and receipts for appliances, automobiles, bank deposits, clothing, drugs, dry-cleaning, furniture, groceries, insurance, medicine, schools, subscriptions, toys, utilities, and miscellaneous items. There is also a revival-tithes financial report of New Hope Baptist Church, Jackson, Mississippi (1963) and a financial statement of the M. W. Stringer Grand Lodge, F. & A. M., Jackson, Mississippi (1957).
  Box 3, folders 49-73

• Series 22: Personal Records (Medgar Evers). ca. 1940s-1960s.
  This series consists of various personal items of Medgar Evers, including address books, an autograph book, business cards, and membership cards, which date from the 1940s to 1960s. The 1947 autograph book is from Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College.
  Box 3, folders 74-78

• Series 23: Travel Records (Medgar Evers). 1962-1963.
  This series consists of airline tickets of Medgar Evers dating from 1962 to 1963.
  Box 3, folder 79

• Series 24: Certificate (Medgar Evers). 1956.
  This series consists of a certificate for outstanding service presented to Medgar Evers by the Farish Street Young Men’s Christian Association in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1956.
  Box 3, folder 80

• Series 25: Program (Mississippi Regional Council of Negro Leadership). 1955.
  This series consists of a program of the fourth annual meeting of the Mississippi Regional Council of Negro Leadership in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, on April 29, 1955.
  Box 3, folder 81

• Series 26: Publications. ca. 1950s.
  This series consists of scattered publications accumulated by Medgar Evers. Examples include the Bell Park News, vol. 10, no. 8, December 1959; Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 85^th Congress, Second Session, 1958; The Masonic Monitor, 1951; Mississippi Veteran, vol. 34, no. 5, June 1957; Points for Emphasis, 1957; and Ritual of the Subordinate Lodge Under the Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge, Improved, Benevolent, Protective Order of Elks of the World, Incorporated, 1952.
  Box 3, folders 82-86
  Box 31, folder 3 (oversize)

• Series 27: Photographs (Evers Family). ca. 1900s-1960s; n.d.
  This series consists of black-and-white or color photographs of Medgar Evers, Myrlie Evers, the Evers children, and various Evers-Beasley family friends or relatives. There are images of Myrlie Beasley at Bowman High School in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and as a member of the girls’ vocal group, the Chansonettes of Mount Heroden Baptist Church in Vicksburg. Of interest are photographs of Dr. A. A. Cosey; the home of Aaron E. Henry after a firebomb attack on April 12, 1963; and the presidential campaign rally of Richard M. Nixon in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1960. There are also unidentified images of swine breeding in the 1950s and a trip to Hollywood, California, in 1963. One undated oversize photograph depicts the president and faculty of Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College. Scattered 4”x5” copy negatives and 35 mm. original negatives exist for some images.
  Box 4, folders 1-18
  Box 5, folder 1 (oversize)
  Box 6, folder 1 (oversize)
  Box 7, folder 1: 4”x5” copy negatives
  Box 7, folder 2: 35 mm. negative

• Series 28: Christmas Cards (Evers Family). 1962.
  This series consists of cards which the Evers family received from friends and acquaintances during the Christmas season of 1962. Of interest is a card from the Thurgood Marshall family.
  Box 8, folders 1-7

• Series 29: Audio Recordings. [1957-ca. 1963; n.d.]
  This series includes CD-ROM copies of two addresses of Governor J. P. Coleman to joint sessions of the Mississippi legislature, the first on November 5, 1957, and the second on November 18, 1957. There is a CD-ROM copy of a speech of Myrlie Evers delivered sometime after the murder of Medgar Evers on April 12, 1963. There is also a CD-ROM copy of an address of United States congressman Charles Coles Diggs, Jr., of Michigan to the Mississippi state convention of the NAACP, with an introduction by [Medgar Evers ?], [n.d.].
  Box 9

Subgroup 3: Myrlie Evers Papers

• Series 30: Correspondence. 1958-1964; n.d.
  This series consists of business and personal correspondence of Myrlie Evers regarding book or motion-picture offers, the NAACP, travel, the Tri-State Bank of Memphis, the trust fund established for the Evers children, and miscellaneous subjects.
  Box 10, folders 1-7

• Series 31: Greeting Cards. 1946-1963; n.d.
  This series consists of various types of greeting cards received by Myrlie Evers from the 1940s to 1960s.
  Box 10, folder 8

• Series 32: Sympathy Correspondence. 1963-1964.
  This series consists of numerous letters of condolence, which Myrlie Evers received following the murder of Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963. They were written by individuals or organizations from across the nation. A number of foreign letters of condolence were also received. Donations large and small often accompanied the letters. Only a very small percentage of the letters could be considered as hate mail. Of special interest is a June 2, 1964, letter of photographer Phineas Indritz of Silver Spring, Maryland, enclosing a series of four black-and-white images taken during the National Board of the American Veterans Committee’s memorial service honoring Medgar Evers at Arlington National Cemetery on March 8, 1964.
  Box 11, folders 1-26
  Box 12, folders 1-22
  Box 13, folders 1-25
  Box 14, folders 1-8

• Series 33: Sympathy Cards. 1963-1964.
  This series consists of numerous sympathy cards that Myrlie Evers received following the murder of Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963. They were sent by individuals or organizations from across the nation. A number of foreign sympathy cards were also received. Donations large and small often accompanied the sympathy cards.
  Box 15, folders 1-32
  Box 16, folders 1-58

• Series 34: Sympathy Telegrams. 1963.
  This series consists of original sympathy telegrams that Myrlie Evers received following the murder of Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963. They were sent by individuals or organizations from across the nation. Original telegrams are restricted; reference photocopies must be used instead.
  Box 17, folders 1-6 (restricted originals)
  Box 20, folders 1-6 (reference photocopies)

• Series 35: Press Clippings. 1963.
  This series consists of original news clippings of articles regarding the murder of Medgar Evers, which were collected nationwide by the Luce Press Clipping Service and forwarded to Myrlie Evers from June 12 to July 4, 1963. Original news clippings are restricted; reference photocopies must be used instead.
  Box 17, folders 7-50 (restricted originals)
  Box 18, folders 1-76 (restricted originals)
  Box 19, folders 1-31 (restricted originals)
  Box 20, folders 7-79 (reference photocopies)
  Box 21, folders 1-83 (reference photocopies)

• Series 36: News Clippings. 1954-1964; n.d.
  This series consists of original news clippings of articles regarding various aspects of the civil-rights movement in Mississippi and elsewhere; the murder of Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963; and the two murder trials of Byron De La Beckwith in 1964. Original news clippings are restricted; reference photocopies must be used instead.
  Box 22, folders 1-14 (restricted originals)
  Box 23, folders 1-15 (restricted originals)
  Box 24, folders 1-14 (reference photocopies)
  Box 25, folders 1-15 (reference photocopies)

• Series 37: Speeches (Myrlie Evers). 1963; n.d.
  This series consists of drafts of various speeches delivered by Myrlie Evers following the murder of Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963.
  Box 26, folder 1

• Series 38: Financial Records (Sympathy-Related Donations). ca. 1963-1964.
  This series consists of scattered financial records of sympathy-related donations, which Myrlie Evers received from various individuals or organizations following the murder of Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963.
  Box 26, folder 2

• Series 39: Travel Records (Myrlie Evers). ca. 1963-1964.
  This series consists of travel-related records of Myrlie Evers following the murder of Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963. Included are airline tickets and itineraries from around 1963 to 1964.
  Box 26, folder 3
  Box 26, folder 4

• Series 40: School Papers (Myrlie Louise Beasley). 1946-1950; n.d.
  This series consists of various school-related papers of Myrlie Louise Beasley, including programs from the 1946 commencement exercises of McIntyre Elementary and Junior High School in Vicksburg, Mississippi, as well as academic course work; an autograph book; a memory book; and programs from her years at Bowman High School in Vicksburg, Mississippi, from 1946 to 1950.
  Box 26, folders 5-9

• Series 41: Programs. 1948-1964; n.d.
  This series consists of programs from various events attended by, featuring, or honoring Myrlie Evers from the 1940s to the 1960s. Included are programs of performances of the Chansonettes, a girls’ vocal group from Mount Heroden Baptist Church in Vicksburg, Mississippi, between 1948 and 1950. There are also programs from a Capital Press Club banquet in Washington, D.C., on June 13, 1964; an NAACP life-membership luncheon in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 1964; a Utility Club luncheon in New York City on June 6, 1964; an Pasadena, California, NAACP branch dinner entitled “A Tribute to Our Heritage, with Nancy Wilson,” on October 25, 1963; and an undated NAACP people’s rights rally at Howard University Stadium in Washington, D.C.
  Box 26, folders 10-15

• Series 42: Lyrics and Musical Scores. 1963; n.d.
  This series consists of the 1963 lyrics and musical scores to “Theosophy and Hymns,” by Joyce Rutledge Hilton, and the undated lyrics to “The End of Time,” by Sister Cleo Shannon.
  Box 26, folders 16-17

• Series 43: Polk Family Papers. 1931-1932.
  This series consists of a bill of sale and a deed of trust for property of John Decatur Polk in Warren County, Mississippi, from 1931 to 1932. Polk was an uncle of Myrlie Evers.
  Box 26, folder 18

• Series 44: Publications. 1950s-1960s.
  This series consists of scattered publications accumulated by Myrlie Evers Williams during the 1950s and 1960s. Included are The Alumnus of Alcorn A. & M. College, vol. 17, no. 4, November 1963; The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races, vol. 71, nos. 2-4, February-April 1964; Ebony, vol. 14, no. 1, November 1958; Ebony, vol. 18, no. 11, September 1963; Flare Magazine, vol. 1, no. 2, October 1963; The Hollywood Reporter, vol. 176, no. 47, September 4, 1963; Jet, vol. 25, no. 9, December 19, 1963; Jet, vol. 26, no. 12, July 2, 1964; The Jimki Jazz Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 2, May 17, 1964; The Kalamazoo Weekly Star, vol. 1, no. 5, July 26, 1963; The Kalamazoo Weekly Star, vol. 1, no. [?], August 2, 1963; Life, vol. 56, no. 5, January 31, 1964; The Mississippi Educational Journal, vol. 40, no. 1, October 1963; Realistic Abstract Art, 1959; Time: The Weekly News Magazine, vol. 84, no., 5, July 31, 1964; U.S. News and World Report, February 24, 1964 (fragment); and The Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide, vol. 29, no. 5, November-December 1963.
  Box 27, folders 1-11
  Box 28, folders 1-4 (oversize)

Subgroup 4: State of Mississippi v. Byron De La Beckwith Records

• Series 45: Criminal-Offense Reports. 1963-1964.
  This series consists of photocopies of criminal-offense reports and supplementary criminal-offense reports of various Jackson Police Department officers assigned to investigate the murder of Medgar Evers at 2332 Guynes Street in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 12, 1963. These detailed investigative reports date from June 12, 1963, to April 11, 1964.
  Box 29, folders 1-3

• Series 46: Witness Files. 1964.
  This series consists of a set of alphabetically arranged files pertaining to witnesses who may have testified at the two murder trials of Byron De La Beckwith in 1964. The files were compiled from relevant portions of the 1963-1964 investigative reports of the Jackson Police Department.
  Box 29, folders 4-44

• Series 47: Subpoenas. 1963-1964.
  This series consists of photocopies of subpoenas issued by the circuit clerk to various individuals between 1963 and 1964 commanding them to appear before the judge of the Hinds County Circuit Court, First Judicial District, Jackson, and to give evidence in the case of the State of Mississippi v. Byron De La Beckwith. This case was tried twice in the circuit court in 1964, and a mistrial was declared each time.
  Box 29, folders 45-47

• Series 48: Evidence Files. 1963-1964.
  This series consists of photocopies of redacted evidence files relating to the case of the State of Mississippi v. Byron De La Beckwith, No. 17,824, which assistant district attorney Bobby DeLaughter utilized in the third trial of Byron De La Beckwith in the Hinds County Circuit Court, First Judicial District, Jackson, in 1994. The files were apparently redacted by the prosecution to protect the privacy interests of various individuals mentioned therein.
  Box 29, folders 48-54

• Series 49: Motions and Orders. 1963-1964.
  This series consists of photocopies of various motions filed by the defense and the prosecution in the case of the State of Mississippi v. Byron De La Beckwith, No. 17,824, Hinds County Circuit Court, First Judicial District, Jackson, as well as orders issued by the circuit judge relative to the case between 1963 and 1964.
  Box 29, folder 55

• Series 50: Memorandum Book. [1963].
  This series consists of a bound manuscript copy of an original memorandum book entitled “People to Call” that Medgar Evers used two days prior to his murder on June 12, 1963. It is apparently a list of people Evers intended to telephone about various matters.
  Box 29, folder 56

• Series 51: Court-Case File. 1990-1994.
  This series consists of photocopies of the court-case file entitled State of Mississippi v. Byron De La Beckwith, No. 90-3-495. This case was tried in the Hinds County Circuit Court, First Judicial District, Jackson, and a guilty verdict was returned in 1994. Included are photocopies of various legal documents affecting the case, which were filed with the Mississippi Supreme Court or the Hinds County Circuit Court between 1990 and 1994.
  Box 30, folders 1-2

• Series 52: Pleadings. 1992-1994.
  This series consists of photocopies of various pleadings filed in the case of the State of Mississippi v. Byron De La Beckwith, No. 90-3-495. This case was tried in the Hinds County Circuit Court, First Judicial District, Jackson, and a guilty verdict was returned in 1994.
  Box 30, folder 3

• Series 53: Security Consultant’s Report. ca. 1994.
  This series consists of a photocopy of a security consultant’s report entitled “Law Enforcement Communications Task Force Recommendations: Byron De La Beckwith Trial.” This report details the coordination of the Capitol Police; Hinds County Emergency Operations Center; Hinds County Sheriff’s Department; Jackson Fire Department; Jackson Police Department; Mississippi Emergency Management Agency; Mississippi Highway Patrol; and the Mississippi National Guard in providing security during the 1994 murder trial of Byron De La Beckwith in Jackson.
  Box 30, folder 4

• Series 54: Digital Photoprints. 1994.
  This series consists of digital color photoprints of various individuals attending the 1994 murder trial of Byron De La Beckwith in the Hinds County Circuit Court, First Judicial District, Jackson. Most of the individuals depicted in the images are unidentified. However, among the images of identified individuals are those of white supremacist Richard Barrett. These images were apparently taken for security purposes during the trial, but the photographer is unknown.
  Box 30, folder 5

• Series 55: Ku Klux Klan File. 1992-1993; n.d.
  This series primarily consists of photocopies of scattered pages from 1992 and 1993 issues of the Southern Poverty Law Center newsletter entitled Klanwatch Intelligence Report. The newsletters detail the activities of members of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups. There are also profiles of a few white supremacists, including some from Mississippi.
  Box 30, folder 6

See:
Appendix 1: Box and Folder List.