Education

Myrlie Evers honored with National Urban League Civil Rights Award

The Alcorn family congratulates civil rights icon Myrlie Evers for being honored with the National Urban League Civil Rights Award. Mrs. Evers, who serves as Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Alcorn State University, accepted the award at the 2013 National Urban League Conference held July 24-27, 2013, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 “We are extremely proud for Professor Myrlie Evers for adding another coveted award to her array of honors,” stated Alcorn President M. Christopher Brown II. “We are grateful for everything Mrs. Evers is doing for the nation and for her invaluable contribution as faculty at Alcorn.” […]

News

Miss. voter ID law expected to be used by 2014

Mississippi voters could have to start showing photo identification at the polls by the June 2014 federal primaries, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said last week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that certain state and local governments no longer need federal approval to change their own election laws or procedures.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has required Mississippi and other areas with a history of racial discrimination, mainly in the South, to get clearance for changes as large as implementing a voter ID law to as small as relocating a precinct.

In a 5-4 ruling, justices blocked enforcement of a provision in the 1965 Voting Rights Act that requires Mississippi and several other state and local governments to get federal approval before making any changes to voting laws or procedures. Preclearance has been required in areas with a history of racial discrimination, mainly in the South. […]

Events

Alcorn honors Medgar Wiley Evers’ life and legacy, unveils memorial statue

June 13, 2013, will forever be written in history as a day when the life and legacy of American hero and Alcorn alum Medgar Wiley Evers ’52 was honored by dedicating a heroic size statue on the campus of his alma mater. Hundreds gathered for the memorial dedication ceremony to witness the historic event.

The official dedication of the Medgar Wiley Evers ’52 Memorial Statue, began with presenting of the colors by Mississippi Highway Patrol Honor Guard, the Pledge of Allegiance, and an invocation by Reverend Dr. Jerry Young, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. Erin Pickens, anchor at WJTV, CBS, served as Mistress of Ceremony. […]

Events

Widow works to preserve Evers’ civil-rights legacy

Myrlie Evers-Williams acknowledges it would be easy to remain mired in bitterness and anger, 50 years after a sniper’s bullet made her a widow.

Instead, she’s determined to celebrate the legacy of her first husband, Medgar Evers – a civil rights figure often overshadowed by peers such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Events including a black-tie gala are being held this week to remember Evers, the first Mississippi field secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was 37 when he was assassinated on June 12, 1963. […]