For almost 50 years, Myrlie Evers-Williams has been her late husband’s biggest supporter. Since his death in 1963, she has worked tirelessly, continuously to ensure that his sacrifices will never be forgotten.
But at a special ceremony held in Memphis this week, it was she who was recognized for her many sacrifices and humanitarian efforts.
At the 2009 Freedom Awards on Oct. 27, sponsored by the National Civil Rights Museum, Evers-Williams was presented with the National Freedom Award. Former NBA legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving was also honored with the Legacy Freedom Award.
Since it opened in 1991, the museum, which includes the famous Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated, has sought to honor individuals who have influenced civil and human rights through acts of humanitarianism, philanthropy and activism.
Past recipients include: Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Julian Bond, Nelson Mandela, Colin Powell and Thurgood Marshall.
The National Civil Rights Museum Board agreed that Evers-Williams belonged in that category.
Evers-Williams said she was overwhelmed by the honor.
“This means more to me than I can really put into words,” she told The Mississippi Link. “One – because the award is coming from such a prestigious organization…And [two] because of the fact that I have been chosen to receive an award for my own personal work. That just means so much to me.”
Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., will also present Evers-Williams with an award for her accomplishments on Nov. 4.
Aside from her work with her first husband, Medgar, who was assassinated on June 12, 1963, Evers-Williams continued her work with the NAACP and at the same time, established herself as a businesswoman, a politician and an award-winning author.
In 1975, she married Walter Williams, and she served two terms as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the NAACP. And now, at the age of 76, she still maintains a quiet and regal dignity as she continues to lecture abroad speaking of her experiences and the lessons of life she’s learned.
“Since Medgar’s assassination, I have worked to keep his memory alive and his contributions,” she said. “And I felt that if I did not take on that responsibility myself, no one else would, or they could not do it as well as I.”
Evers-Williams said throughout his life, Medgar never wanted praise for what he did for the sake of others.
“I said to him on a couple of occasions, ‘Medgar, you need to send out press releases about what you’re doing,’” she recalled. “’Other groups are coming to Mississippi and they’re here one week and they get all the publicity when you have worked so hard. I told him that he, and the other Mississippians that were brave enough to walk beside him needed to be recognized. But he never wanted recognition,” she continued. “I saw on a daily basis…what he went through and the physical and emotional toil it took on him. And I was just determined to do everything I possibly could to keep his memory alive, for the young people and for the generations yet to come.”
Evers-Williams was in Jackson earlier this month, when the Navy announced that a supply ship would be named in Medgar’s honor.
“I was speechless,” she said. “I wanted to cry and I did not want to cry. I remember at Medgar’s funeral service in Arlington, Roy Wilkins said in his closing remarks that ‘Medgar Evers believed in his country. It now remains to be seen if his country believes in him.’ So, I was so thankful and so grateful to God for something as significant as that.”
Evers-Williams said she knew Navy secretary Ray Mabus when he was the governor of Mississippi, and he promised her years ago that he, too, would find a way to honor Medgar’s memory.
“He said I will see to it that there will be something significant that pays tribute to Medgar,” she said. “And he was finally able to carry out that promise. The naming of this ship speaks to the integrity of the secretary of the Navy and perhaps a different time in America where such a thing can be done.”
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