Medgar Evers

Medgar Evers, 37, Mississippi field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was shot and killed in Jackson, Miss. early June 12, 1963. He was shot outside his home after returning from an integration rally.

Medgar Evers, State Secretary for the NAACP in Jackson, Miss., is seen in this Aug. 9, 1955.

The hole made by the .30 caliber bullet which mortally wounded Medgar Evers. A bullet passed through Evers and into the window, which reflects the car Evers was exiting when shot in back.

A bloody trail shows the path where a mortally wounded Medgar Evers sought to make it into his house after being shot by a .30 caliber bullet in the back, June 12, 1963.

Jackson Police Capt. Ralph Hargrove, Chief of Identification Bureau, poses with .30 caliber rifle which police say was used to kill Medgar Evers, June 12, 1963. The weapon was found in some weeds nearby Evers' home.

Myrlie Louise Evers, widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, leans down to kiss her late husband's forehead before the casket was opened for public viewing at a funeral home in Jackson, Miss., June 13, 1963. With Mrs. Evers is Charles Evers, her brother-in-law.

Mourners file past the open casket of Medgar Evers in Jackson, Miss., June 15, 1963, prior to funeral services for the slain integration leader.

A woman and two small children stand at the door of a baggage car in Meridian, Miss., June 16, 1963, after the casket containing the body of Medgar Evers was transferred to the train for the trip to Washington, D.C. and burial.

Myrlie Louise Evers cries at her late husband's funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, June 19, 1963. Sitting next to her is her daughter Reena Denise and son Darrell. Evers, a World War II veteran, was buried with full military honors.

A prayer meeting is held at the train station in Meridian, Miss., June 16, 1963, around the casket bearing the body of slain integration leader Medgar Evers. The body was driven from Jackson to Meridian and placed on a train for Washington, D.C. and burial in Arlington National Cemetery.

Byron de la Beckwith, 42, of Greenwood, Miss., is escorted into the Jackson Police station early June 23, 1963, to be arraigned on federal charges in the ambush murder of integration leader Medgar Evers. Shortly afterward, state murder charges were filed against Beckwith. FBI agents escorting handcuffed Beckwith, are unidentified.

Ten-year-old Reena Evers wipes away a tear at the graveside of her father, Medgar Evers, June 25, 1964. The family placed a wreath at the grave to mark the one-year anniversary of Evers' death. Standing with Reena are her mother and her brother, Darrell. At left rear, Philip Gordon of Detroit holds James Evers, 4.

Attorney General Robert Kennedy shakes hands with delegates to the convention of the NAACP on June 24, 1964, in Washington, D.C. He greeted the delegates as they marched around the Justice Department building in silent protest over the disappearance of three young civil rights workers in Mississippi and the general racial situation. The boy at center is Darrell Evers, son of Medgar Evers.

Entertainer and civil rights activist Sammy Davis, Mrs. Medgar Evers, widow of slain activist Medgar Evers, and her children Darrell and Reena, are all smiles in Sammy's dressing room backstage after a matinee of the musical "Golden Boy" at the Majestic Theatre, New York City, Jan. 5, 1965.

Myrlie Evers tells a memorial gathering at Fayette, Miss., "I see evidence every day that Medgar Evers lives on." In background is a drawing of a black-white handshake with the inscription :"Together We Rise." She spoke June 12, 1973, on the 10th anniversary of Evers' slaying.

Byron De La Beckwith, shown in 1994 with his wife, Thelma, in Batesville, Miss. Beckwith was convicted Feb. 4, 1994, for the 1963 sniper shooting death of Medgar Evers. Prosecutors tried Beckwith a third time 30 years after two all-white juries deadlocked in 1964. Beckwith's attorney argued his client's constitutional rights to a speedy trial and due process had been denied.

Myrlie Evers, left, and her daughter Reena Evers-Everett celebrate the murder conviction of Bryon De La Beckwith, charged with the June 12, 1963, murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, in this Feb. 5, 1994, photo at the Hinds County Courthouse in Jackson, Miss.

Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of Medgar Evers, receives an honorary degree from Trinity College, in Hartford, Conn., May 18, 1997, where she was also the commencement speaker. Evers-Williams, chair of the NAACP board of directors, has been credited with spearheading financial stability and renewed vigor to the organization.

Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, right, listens while Myrlie Evers-Williams, right, speaks during a memorial service for Betty Shabazz at Riverside Church in the Harlem section of New York, June 29, 1997. Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X, died nearly a month after she was burned in a fire at her home. Thousands attended the service.