His name was Medgar Evers and he walked his road alone
Like Emmett Till and thousands more whose names we'll never know
They tried to burn his home and they beat him to the ground
But deep inside they both knew what it took to bring him down
The killer waited by his home hidden by the night
As Evers stepped out from his car into the rifle sight
He slowly squeezed the trigger, the bullet left his side
It struck the heart of every man when Evers fell and died
--“Ballad of Medgar Evers”
In this season of thanks, I have a lot for which to be grateful. I’m particularly thankful for Medgar Evers (and here), Fannie Lou Hamer (and here) and the Freedom Riders who forced the nation to fulfill the promises of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
The civil rights martyrs and pioneers are very much on my mind as I leave today for my first-ever trip to Mississippi, where I'm attending a conference in Jackson.
While there, I plan to pay my respects at the Medgar Evers Home Museum, the site of his assassination, and take a civil rights tour.
And since I like to keep it real, I also plan to scout out some down home blues in juke joints in Jackson and along the Gulf Coast.
