Niara McCauley
Mr.Knight
English 2 Honors
Block F
1 April 2014
Medgar Evers and the Trials of his Murderer
Many of us have been victims of discrimination at one time or another within our lives, whether it be for the our skin color, or religion, or even because we may act different. Racial discrimination was a big thing in the south. The murder of Medgar Evers and the trials of Byron De La Beckwith are prime examples of extreme discrimination and racism that went on in the south during the 1950s and the 1960s. Medgar Evers was an activist for African American civil- rights. Evers helped to bring national attention to the struggle of African Americans in the south. Evers ended up paying the ultimate price for his commitment to African American civil- rights when he was murdered in his own front yard by Byron De La Beckwith. The trials following the murder of Evers exemplify the true miscarriages of justice that were a result of racial discrimination.
Medgar Evers was an African American civil rights activist from Decatur, Mississippi. After marrying a college classmate, Evers and his wife moved to Mound Bayou, Mississippi. There, T.R.M. Howard hired Evers to sell insurance for his company, Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance. Howard was also the president of a civil rights and pro self-help organization, the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL). Evers soon became involved in the RNCL, giving him excellent training in activism. In February of 1954, Evers applied to the segregated University of Mississippi Law School and had his application rejected due to discrimination against African Americans. Evers then became the focus of an NAACP campaign to desegregate the University of Mississippi. This case was aided b...
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...wed the murder of Evers were examples of prejudice due to skin color. The all-white juries acquitted Beckwith not once, but twice, as a result of the racist mindsets involved. Medgar Evers ended up paying the extreme price for standing up for a cause that shouldn’t have been controversial in the first place. In the end, justice was served where it was due but not without the intense prejudice and discrimination that rocked a nation.
Works Cited
Dufresne, Marcel (October 1991). "Exposing the Secrets of Mississippi Racism". American Journalism
Review.
Evers-Williams, Myrlie; Marable, Manning (2005). The Autobiography Of Medgar Evers: A
Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, and Speeches. Basic
Civitas Books.
"NAACP History: Medgar Evers." NAACP. , 24 Jan 2012. Web. 10 Mar 2014.
...s aimed at blacks. I was horrified while reading the fate of Georgia resident, Sam Hose (or Holt), and believe that that occurrence alone would motivate Robert Charles to murder. I was also disgusted with the South's lack of justice. Some whites were tried for murder, and although clearly guilty, received no punishment.
also exemplifies a compassionate leader, but another leadership quality of King’s was his unmatched trustworthiness amongst the black people of the 1950’s and 60’s. Martin Luther King Jr. lived during a time of severe segregation and hate toward the African-American people of the United States. Many African-American civil rights activists- such as Reverend George Lee, Lamar Smith, and NAACP State Director Medgar Evers- were victims of gruesome murders due to their efforts in the Civil Rights Movement (Austin, 2002). Martin Luther King Jr. too was killed as a result of his efforts as one of the leaders of the movement, and every time that King organized a demonstration, his followers also risked their lives by participating. Their trust in Martin Luther King Jr.’s non-violent demonstrations was eventually rewarded, as now the African-American people comprise an important part of
In 1964, Byron De La Beckwith, a white man, stood trial accused in the murder of black Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi. Evers was the thirty-seven year old Field Secretary for the NAACP; Beckwith was a member of the White Citizens Chapter of Greenwood, Mississippi. Although the case drew national attention at a time when the country was torn apart by racial strife, two different all-white juries were unable to reach a unanimous decision and both trials resulted in mistrials. It was not until 1989 that a young, white prosecutor in Jackson, Mississippi named Bobby DeLaughter gained interest in the case after reading a newspaper article. DeLaughter set the wheels in motion for Beckwith’s third trial which ultimately ended in his conviction in 1994.
In his book, Blood Done Sign My Name, the author Timothy Tyson tells the story of the highly combustible racial atmosphere in the American South before, during, and after the Jim Crow era. Unlike Margaret Mitchell’s account of the glory and grandeur of the Antebellum South, Tyson exposes the reader to the horrific and brutal reality that the black race experienced on a daily basis. Tyson highlights the double standard that existed during this period in history, arguing that the hypocrisy of the “white” southern judicial system allowed the murder of a young black African-American male at the hands of white racists to go unpunished (Tyson 2004, 244).
The Emmett Till murder shined a light on the horrors of segregation and racism on the United States. Emmett Till, a young Chicago teenager, was visiting family in Mississippi during the month of August in 1955, but he was entering a state that was far more different than his hometown. Dominated by segregation, Mississippi enforced a strict leash on its African American population. After apparently flirting with a white woman, which was deeply frowned upon at this time in history, young Till was brutally murdered. Emmett Till’s murder became an icon for the Civil Rights Movement, and it helped start the demand of equal rights for all nationalities and races in the United States.
Dred Scott v. Sanford is notoriously famous for its pro-slavery verdict which demonstrates the white superiority and racial attitude the Supreme Court had while making the decision. This case was only the first in setting the precedence of the social hardships African Americans had to go through in order to gain civil and human
After his clients were found guilty of rape and sentenced to the death penalty for a third time, Sam Leibovitz noticed a disturbing trend in the courtroom. Out of the multitude of jurors used in each hearing, none of them were black. Every single one was a white southerner, and Leibovitz felt as though the jury was rigged in favor of the prosecution. This was exceedingly common in the South at this time, as many states excluded people of color from sitting on a jury. In Norris versus Alabama, Leibovitz voiced his concerns to the United States Supreme Court. This landmark case was unorthodox, as Leibovitz had the jury rolls from the cases brought up all the way from Alabama to be read by the justices. The preponderance of the names on the lists were those of whites, but there were a few names belonging to blacks at the bottom of some of the pages. These were all hastily scrawled, as if they were added recently. Leibovitz argued that they were written there merely to show that Alabama did not intentionally influence the jury against the boys, when they actually did. The Supreme Court voted for Leibovitz, and ruled that all people, no matter their skin color, should be able to vote on a jury. This verdict would be instrumental for later race-based proceedings in the future. During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, many crucial cases were won because of empathetic, equal
Emmett till case is the first case that upset most white people. It the fact that it happened to a child, that make all the difference in the world. Emmett Till helped open American’s eyes to the racial hatred in their country and it helps racial equality and justice.
Pinkston, R. (2013, June 12). 50th anniversary of Medgar Evers' broadcasting milestone. Retrieved from CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/50th-anniversary-of-medgar-evers-broadcasting-milestone/
Blacks were treated unjustly due to the Jim Crow laws and the racial stigmas embedded into American society. Under these laws, whites and colored people were “separate but equal,” however this could not be further from the truth. Due to the extreme racism in the United States during this time period, especially in the South, many blacks were dehumanized by whites to ensure that they remained inferior to them. As a result of their suffering from the prejudice society of America, there was a national outcry to better the lives of colored people.
He had broke a social custom of associating with white women,but there was no need for him to die in the way he did. In the South there were no laws to protect him.Emmett Till 's death or define it as vile, inhuman, and disturbing. The South believed that black men were rapist and they could be in contact with white women.
Emmett Till was a young, black teenager who had a bright future that was taken away from him by racism. Emmett Till was visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi and went into a store, and no one knows quite what happened. Emmett Till had been dared by his friends to hit on the cashier of the store, a white women. Not heeding his mother’s warning to not speak to white people, he was heard leaving the store saying “Bye, Baby”. When the husband of came home from a business trip four days later, the wife said that a black kid made lewd advances on her. Enraged, he and his brother-in-law kidnapped, tortured, and ultimately killed Emmett Till. Despite the short-life of Emmett Till, his brutal murder was the impetus for the civil rights movement
14 May 2013. Web. The Web. The Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Emmett is now a famous African American who will never be forgotten. He is one of the faces that can be depicted for Racism. Racism has caused many sadness and death. Treating humans as less than others based on opinions. There are many people who has been treated wrongly, but stand for the rights of African Americans: Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman and Malcolm
Racial discrimination in this time period was a very crucial issue. This case should have never happened. Why were these men murdered for fighting for what they believed in? The civil rights act of 1964 was a prime example of what should have been done before these men were murdered and all of these executions might have been prevented. To this day racial segregation, religion and other forms of discrimination still go on but something is being done about it. Innocent people are not being murdered because of three men who lost their lives due to discrimination. Even though these men are gone it is because of their death that people are still fighting for equality.