On June 12th, 1963, civil rights activist Medgar Evers was shot to death by a lone assassin, Byron De La Beckwith. Evers, a decorated US Army combat veteran who had served in WW II, was engaged in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi, end the segregation of public facilities, and expand opportunities for African Americans including the enforcement of voting rights.
Evers became active in the civil rights movement in the 1950s. In 1963, he was awarded the NAACP Springarn Medal.
On June 12th, 1963, Evers was murdered at his home in Jackson, Mississippi by Byron De La Beckwith. De La Beckwith was a member of the White Citizens Council in Jackson. This group was formed in 1954 to resist integration of schools and civil rights activism. Evers was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. Although all-white juries failed to reach verdicts in Beckwith's first two trials, he was convicted of the murder in 1994 based on new evidence.
