1963 – Medgar Evers Leads Voter Registration Drive

On May 28, 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers organized a major voter registration drive in Jackson, Mississippi, amid mounting threats from white supremacists. As the NAACP field secretary for Mississippi, Evers was instrumental in challenging the Jim Crow system through legal action and grassroots organizing. This particular effort came just weeks before his assassination and symbolized the growing urgency of the civil rights movement in the Deep South. Despite intense resistance, Evers mobilized hundreds of Black citizens to register and vote, laying groundwork for future civil rights gains. His bravery in the face of deadly hostility made him a martyr for the movement. May 28 highlights the enduring struggle for voting rights and the sacrifices made by those who risked everything to expand democracy. Evers’s legacy lives on in every ballot cast by those once denied the right to vote.