Medgar Evers was a well known Civil Rights leader. He was born in Mississippi near Decater in 1925 and left the town when he joined the Army in 1943. Medgar Evers would become the first full time state field secretary of the NAACP in 1954. He married his wife Myrlie in 1951 and the two of them worked hard to establish local chapters of the NAACP in the Mississippi Delta area.
In his role as field secretary Medgar Evers kept a watchful eye on civil rights violations. He collected and publicized his findings even though there were many threats to his life. Unfortunately, his life was taken in the driveway of his home in the summer of 1963. Although they captured the accused killer, a man named Byron De La Beckwith it would take three trials before there was a conviction. The two trials in the 1960's with an all white jury could not reach a verdict. The third trial in 1994 finally saw the accused man convicted of Medgar Evers' murder.
The Medgar Evers Home is located at 2332 Margaret Walker Alexander Drive, Jackson, MS. The home was built in 1957 and had the front door on the side of the home for the sake of safety. The door was located just off the carport. The home was used in the film Ghosts of Mississippi, the story of the prosecution of Medgar Evers' assassin. The furniture that is in the home today was left there by the film company. Mr. Evers and his family primarily lived in the back of the house for reasons of safety and the master bedroom had high set windows for both privacy and security.
One of the rooms in the home is used as the museum room. Here the life story of Medgar Evers is told in pictures and stories. Other rooms that can be seen while visiting the home are the children's room and the kitchen. In the kitchen visitors can see the dent in the refrigerator made by one of the bullets from Byron De La Beckwith's gun.
There are several hotels in the area for visitors to stay in while visiting the Medgar Evers Home; A Marriott, La Quinta Inn Jackson, Hotel Jackson, Ridgeland Days Inn & Suites, Quality Inn North, Comfort Suites Ridgeland, Best Western Airport Inn, Econo Lodge Pearl and Staybridge Suites Jackson. Hotels that are within four miles of Medgar Evers home include the Cabot Lodge Milsaps, Crowne Plaza Jackson Downtown, Edison Walthall and Jackson Southwest.
If you are looking for a restaurant close to the museum check out Big John's, Bully's Restaurant, or Gloria's Kitchen. These restaurants are all within two miles of the home. Other attractions in Jackson to visit are the Jackson Zoo, Farish Street Historical District and the Manship House Museum. These attractions are within a four mile radius of the Medgar Evers Home. Children will enjoy visiting the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science and the Old Capitol Museum.
