1963 – Medgar Evers Assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi

On the night of June 11, 1963, NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers was shot and killed outside his home in Jackson, Mississippi. Evers had spent years fighting for civil rights, including school integration, voter registration, and justice for lynching victims. Just hours before his murder, President Kennedy delivered a major speech advocating for civil rights reform. Evers was returning home from a meeting when he was ambushed by a white supremacist sniper, Byron De La Beckwith. Evers\’ death shocked the nation and became a galvanizing moment in the civil rights movement. His assassination highlighted the extreme risks faced by Black activists in the Jim Crow South. Though De La Beckwith was not convicted until 1994, Evers\’ legacy endured as a martyr for justice. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery and remains a symbol of sacrifice in the fight for racial equality.