>> today marks the 57th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader, medgar evers and jackson, mississippi. c-span traveled to jackson to tour his house and to learn more about the tragic event of 1953. ♪ >> now, for many of us who have gone overseas, fought for this country, fought for mississippi and we fought for alabama and we fought for north carolina and we fought for illinois and we fought for every state in this union, now we will stay here and see the things that the mayor has said become a reality. >> fifteen minutes past midnight adverse got out of his car in the negro residential area. about 40 yards away they fired a single shot from a high-powered

rifle and the bullet hit him in the back, crashed to his body into the window in a house. he died in an hour at a jacksonville hospital. ♪ >> you in the former home of medgar evers and marlee edgar's and our address is 2322 margaret walker drive. he was born and raised in decatur, mississippi and he talked about when you read about him and in listening to him talk he knew the difference of how the races that were made between the races and he said he never could understand why. he talked about having white playmates and had friends and was only after that they would hunt and fish together and was only about when his friends got to the beat the age of 16 that

they were separated and went different ways. he talked about seeing his friends and he was going downtown and he saw his friends standing on the corner with other whites and he said of course, they called him [inaudible] and they noticed his friend dropped his head when he said it. and so that is what situation he grew up in. then he talked about and he said i knew the difference that was made between the races and i could never understand why it was that way. talk to his father bought it and his father would talk to him and say what your responsibilities are. in reading and in listening to people talk and who knew evers it came home to him just how much difference was made between the races in the things that would happen. he witnessed a lynching when he was only 12. he says when he asked his father why would they do that to him his father said that is what they do. medgar said i'm sure he was angry and frustrated and hurt so

getting away from it and getting away from mississippi and he enlisted into the army when he was only 16 and he served in world war ii. he talked about, as he traveled about he defended america and it was not about the color of his skin until he came home to mississippi. on his 21st birthday he tried to register to vote, he and his brother charles who was also a veteran and he said the group of white men turn them around. with shotguns. and we ran we do not go up against those men but it made medgar get serious. then he finished the two years of high school and it was all corn college now but now alcorn university and enrolled in college majoring in business administration. after medgar graduated from alcorn he moved to mississippi and he was up in the mount by you at the time it was an all-black town founded by blacks

and run by blacks. this young man named tr emma howard lived in mount by you and a black man who was rich. he had insurance companies so he gave medgar his first job of selling insurance for him and medgar said he started out in a little town of [inaudible] mississippi selling insurance and then he ventured to the plantations and that is where he was selling or trying to sell insurance out there. metzger looked at the conditions under which these people were living and also he talked about black people not even knowing what insurance was. so as he was talking to them and watching their conditions and looking at their conditions and looking at the reactions he was getting when he talked about human rights, civil rights and the naacp, registering, getting registered to vote in that kind of thing and people would begin to tell medgar these stories

which were true and what was happening to people in the area and in fact, in many places there were no schools for blacks. and if you tried to register to vote what would happen to you or what had happened to others and what could happen to you? medgar and that is your right. once they were not allowed medgar to home to their properties and when word got out of what he was doing he started initiating several boycotts and where they could buy gas but cannot use the bathroom. the rices -- prices rose and the blacks went in and a lot of times they said you had to stand in line until the whites were served. medgar said don't buy groceries or the gas and we will go somewhere where you treat us better. these things were beginning to work because of medgar evers.

mississippi had not hadn't naacp secretary and his job was to come in and organize 82 counties in the state of mississippi at getting people registered to vote and taking complaints and just checking what was going on. i believe he was selected by the national naacp office to do that after he tried to get into the university of mississippi which is now ole ms.. when they denied him admission this is when the national naacp asked him to become field secretary. to do that he had to come into jackson. may be at first they did not take medgar out too seriously but it was only after he came into jackson to get things flowing so to speak and then got involved with the [inaudible] movement and the freedom riders and they came in and that is

when medgar, people really began to see this man is shaking things up. he will not give up. when he challenged w lvt to make a speech, blacks cannot speak. cannot speak -- i had not heard medgar before that i heard it when i went away to college. he was not on television and he was not on the radio so i think this is when people begin to seg people around but i call them the graduate people, the foot soldiers began to get involved. women, children begin to get involved and i think this is where they saw or this man is really shaking things up. >> don't shop for anything on capitol street. let the merchants down on capitol street feel the economic pinch. let me say this to you. i had one merchant follow me and said i want you to know that i talked to my national office

today and they want me to tell you that we don't need nigger business. these are stories that help support the white citizens council. the council that is dedicated to keeping you and i second class citizens. now, finally ladies and gentlemen, we will be demonstrating here until freedom comes to negroes here in jackson, mississippi. [cheering and applause] >> this is what made [inaudible] it was historic in itself in that medgar and his family came into this neighborhood after he became field secretary. this was the neighborhood that was by subdivision it was supposed to be in development to black world war ii veterans and that had never happened before. not in jackson, mississippi. but these were developing 81 street subdivision and they were

developing it with constructing homes or what they called professional, middle-class professional with hedge lawyers, doctors, teachers, business owners, living on this one street subdivision and then they would put their places subdivision in between two white sub divisions. it was like a trial thing. medgar selected this particular lot because it was a house on the left and it was one on the right and medgar knew what was happening or what could happen. he knew the things that were happening to the families and the threats being made, so he came and changed his house plans preferences, he did not want a front door. basically this is the only house in the area that does not have a front door prayed he asked that because he said he wanted his main entrance through the carport and he would teach his family that when they come into the driveway they were always

going to exit the car on the passenger side. that weight they could use the wall in the car as a means of protection. the windows on the east wall are higher than other windows. higher than houses that look like this on the street. the first year they were here someone shot through this window, living room window. that is when missus evers said put the kids on the floor so they would be lower than the windows and the beds would be. second time it was shot was through their bedroom window so that is when they all got on the floor and she talked about how she would sleep with a gun in the neighbor with the pistol or vice versa but as i said she was protecting her kids just as medgar was. medgar knew his life and he knew people were following him. that's why he took these precautions were he talked about in meetings he talked about when he would get a car he had a

mechanic friend he would take it to him and have it souped up, so to speak, to outrun the people who were chasing him. these kinds of things. sometimes you have a calling and you cannot let go and i believe that is the way it was with medgar. at least, that is what he talked about. >> i've had a number of threatening calls, people calling me saying they would kill me or blow my home up. saying that i only had a few hours to live. >> fifteen minutes past midnight turned want get out of his car in the negro residential area. about 40 yards away a sniper fired a single shot from a high-powered rifle and it hit him in the back, crushed through his body, blew a window into the house. mac missus evers talked about in the back of the house and hearing medgar drive up and not coming into the house. then she heard the shot and she said my kids began crawling

across the floor to go to the bathroom because they had told medgar should something happen the safest place in the house is the bathtub. she said that is where they were headed until she heard a thump like someone threw something on the house and it made her break for the door but she said what she threw open the door medgar was a staggering come around her car trying to get to his door and she said or she heard a couple of more shots and she thought they still were shooting at her. the other two shots she heard were mr. wells next door. mr. wells said i was not aiming at anybody in particular but that i was hoping to run whoever it was away but he and another friend came to medgar's rescue, so to speak, and missus evers said medgar was lying face down with his keys in his right hand. she said i thought he was dead but he wasn't. he was saying something that we

could not understand. they brought him inside the house and took a mattress off the daughter's fed and put him on that mattress to transport to the hospital. >> in jackson, mississippi in 1963 there lived a man who was brave. he fought for freedom all his life but they lay medgar evers in his grave. >> following his death

what a great difference made in mississippi. the other thing i learned that not only the mississippi but throughout the world. one of the things that he said is a i like this, this is home. i like fishing here, like

hunting in mississippi is a wonderful place to grow up. he said why should i leave. if you look at it like this, it never meant mississippi. if everybody could not or would not leave mississippi. why should you are in this he would put it, you have the same rights as any body else here so why should you have to run away. to some own known city or state get a decent education. and also to make a living for your family. to get a decent job. and it's important to be able to support your family and have a nice home. why should you have to do that. so they decided to stay right here. in mississippi. and thank god he did. >> tonight here in cspan two, essential workers testify before a house committee about issues they are facing keep hospitals,

transportation and food production going during the pandemic. many members wanted to know what federal government can do to help. you can see their answers tonight starting at eight eastern. bench watch book tv this summer. every saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. eastern, watch your favorite nonfiction authors. starting saturday, but first prize-winning historian, well known for her work on american residents especially team of rivals. and next saturday, as a feature of new york times best-selling author, bench watch book tv, all summer on "c-span2". >> with recent protests unfolding across the country watch our live and filter coverage with briefings from the white house, the congress, governors and mayors from across

the nation updating the situation. plus efforts on the hennepin deming prayed in campaign 2020. he joined in the conversation every day, unlike call in program, washington journal. and he missed any of our live coverage, watch anytime on demand, but cspan.org. or is on the go with a free radio app. former u.s. attorney general talked about racial and social justice pretty for joining the senate, the top prosecutor for minneapolis for our where george floyd died in police custody. it was hosted by georgetown university in public policy and also included questions from students. i want to thank everyone for tuning in tonight.