Myriel myrlie evers williams biography

Myrlie Louise Evers-Williams (née Beasley; born March 17, ) is an American civil rights activist and journalist who worked for over three decades to seek justice for the murder of her husband Medgar Evers, another civil rights activist.

She also served as chairwoman of the NAACP , and has published several books on topics related to civil rights and her husband's legacy. On January 21, , she delivered the invocation at the second inauguration of Barack Obama. Since her maternal grandmother worked all day in service, with no time to raise a child, Myrlie was raised by her paternal grandmother, Annie McCain Beasley, and an aunt, Myrlie Beasley Polk.

Both women were respected school teachers and they inspired her to follow in their footsteps. Domestic life was strained by her husband's formal application to law school as his parents were opposed, Myrlie was expecting her second child, the family was financially restricted and unprepared for the increasing public exposure on his stealthy voting rights activities in the Delta.

As prominent civil rights leaders in Mississippi, the Everses became high-profile targets for pro-segregationist violence and terrorism.

Myrlie Louise Evers-Williams (née Beasley; born March 17, ) is an American civil rights activist and journalist who worked for over three decades to seek justice for the murder .

In , a year before Byron De La Beckwith 's release, she moved with her children to Claremont, California , [ 8 ] and emerged as a civil rights activist in her own right. From to , Evers was the vice-president for advertising and publicity at the New-York-based advertising firm Seligman and Lapz. At ARCO she was responsible for developing and managing all the corporate programs.

This included overseeing funding for community projects, outreach programs, public and private partnership programs and staff development. She helped secure money for many organizations such as the National Woman's Educational Fund, and worked with a group that provided meals to the poor and homeless. By the mids, the prestigious organization was going through a difficult period marked by scandal and economic problems.

Evers-Williams decided that the best way to help the organization was to run for chairperson of the board of directors. She also helped improve its financial status, raising enough funds to eliminate its debt. She has received seven honorary doctorates. In February , Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi , announced that Evers-Williams would be serving as a distinguished scholar-in-residence.

On January 21, , Evers-Williams delivered the invocation at the second inauguration of Barack Obama.