By Joaquin M. Turley, Jr.
AFRO Staff Writer
Civil rights activist Medgar Evers (Courtesy Photo/naacp.org)
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(October 11, 2009) - A U.S. Navy ship will be named in honor of late civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced the honor Oct. 9 at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss. The ship is a 700-foot ocean liner that will supply food and ammunition to other ships at sea.
Evers, known as the “Man in Mississippi,” is the ninth African-American to have a Navy ship named in his honor. The first was the U.S.S. Harmon in honor of Leonard Roy Harmon, a Navy Cross winner for heroism during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. The latest was the U.S.N.S. Watson, which honored Private George Watson a World War II Medal of Honor winner. Other Blacks honored include George Washington Carver and Jesse L. Brown.
Evers was born on July 2, 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi and decided to enlist in the navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. After his military service, Evers became the first field secretary for the NAACP, encouraging African-Americans to let their voices to be heard by the masses.
Evers organized peaceful protests, economic boycotts, political sit-ins, and voter registration drives to draw national and world attention to racially discriminative practices. After his assassination in 1963, his wife continued his legacy by traveling around the globe in support of the civil rights movement.
Evers was 37 years old when he was shot to death by a White supremacist. His body now resides at the Arlington National Cemetery. “The selection of Medgar Evers…honors the pioneering spirit of the late civil rights activist from Mississippi who forever changed the face of race relations in the South,” the Obama administration said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. “At a time when our country was wrestling with finally ending segregation and racial injustice, Evers led civil rights efforts to secure the right to vote for all African-Americans and to integrate public facilities, schools and restaurants.”