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Contact: Scott Babinowich, (252) 473-0221
Contact: Keena Graham, (601) 660-8839
JACKSON, Miss. — National Park Service (NPS) leaders and representatives from the Medgar Evers family, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, the Trust for Public Land, numerous regional partners and other local leaders today marked the designation of the Evers family home and nearby lot as a National Monument. The event was designed to both celebrate recent preservation and protection efforts that extend access to the Evers story and to open a weekend-long commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the 1963 assassination of Medgar Evers.“It is with great honor that we welcome both locals and visitors alike to experience the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument,” said Keena Graham, Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument Superintendent. “This site and the work that has been done to preserve it are truly indicative of the legacy of love fostered by the Evers family. We hope that, just as it has been for the past 60 years, this home will continue to be a place that people can come to learn, to understand and to be inspired by this legacy.”
Fellow NPS staff and volunteers from New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park performed at the beginning of the program as a tribute to the music that the Evers family enjoyed while living at their home in Jackson, Mississippi. Speakers during the event highlighted how the home then served as the nerve center of the life and work of two of the nation’s greatest civil rights leaders, as well as how important it is to protect and share this example with new audiences.
“A home is so much more than a shelter, it’s a place where memories are made. This home, the Evers home, is where our family lived, laughed and loved. Tragically, on June 12, 1963, history was born out of tragedy in this home,” said Reena Evers-Everette, daughter of Medgar and Myrlie Evers and Executive Director of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute. “Now, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home will stand as a testimony to the love, strength and resilience of our family and Medgar and Myrlie Evers, who worked to ensure all Black people in Mississippi and beyond had a place to call home. The Evers family thanks the National Park Service for enshrining the Evers home as a national monument, ensuring future generations will learn from our past in order to move forward toward a more empowering and equitable future.”
The event also celebrated the accomplishments of the partnership between the Trust for Public Land (TPL) and NPS. While the relationship between TPL and NPS goes back many years, the newly launched Alliance for Civil Rights Historic Sites program in partnership with NPS has supported a variety of projects at Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, including the development of an outdoor education space and garden area adjacent to the home site. Once complete, the site will include a covered program space, walking path, raised bed flower gardens and educational exhibits. Additionally, TPL has supported the installation of a privacy fence around the back of the home to provide privacy for adjoining neighbors. The work of the Trust for Public Land at the National Monument was supported through generous donations from Entergy, Georgia-Pacific, the National Park Foundation and the Southern Company.
"TPL is proud to be a part of a growing movement dedicated to working with communities across the country to preserve sites commemorating the Black experience," said Diane Regas, President and CEO of Trust for Public Land. "By protecting and restoring places of incredible historical significance like the home of Medgar and Myrlie Evers, we ensure permanent gathering spaces to reflect upon our shared national heritage. This space will forever remain a symbol of courage and persistence of the people who fight for civil rights and social justice, thanks to an incredible partnership between the Evers family, the National Park Service and TPL, and will provide countless Americans with an opportunity to reflect on and learn from our history and help ensure a more hopeful and peaceful future."
Commemorations to mark the legacy of civil rights icon Medgar Evers continue June 9-12 throughout Jackson, Mississippi on the 60th anniversary of his assassination. Weekend activities include tours of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, outdoor events, library presentations and guided auto tours of sites significant to the story of Medgar and Myrlie Evers.
The remembrance events will conclude on Monday, June 12, the date of Medgar Evers’ assassination, with silent walk-throughs of the Evers’ home. More details, including schedules and maps, can be found at go.nps.gov/evers60. Tours of the home will continue after the commemoration events on a regular basis. Visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/memy for more information.
About Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. Medgar Evers was the first Mississippi field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and was tragically assassinated in his driveway on June 12, 1963. The Evers home was established as a unit of the National Park System in 2019 as part of the John Dingell Jr. Conservation Act. Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Jackson, Mississippi preserves the home of Medgar and Myrlie Evers, acknowledges their humanity and interprets their contributions to the modern American civil rights movement and their legacies in the ongoing struggle for freedom and justice. To learn more, visit www.nps.gov/memy
About the 60th Anniversary of Medgar Evers Assassination The National Park Service, in partnership with Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, National Parks Conservation Association, National Park Foundation, and the Trust for Public Land, will celebrate the legacy of civil rights icon Medgar Evers June 9 -12, 2023 throughout Jackson, Mississippi on the 60th anniversary of his assassination. The event will include tours of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, outdoor events, library presentations, and guided auto tours of sites significant to the story of Medgar and Myrlie Evers. The remembrance events will conclude on Monday, June 12th, the date of his assassination, with silent walk-throughs of the Evers’ house. To learn more, visit go.nps.gov/evers60
Last updated: June 8, 2023