|
Books by Manning Marable
Black Liberation in Conservative America
/
Living Black History /
How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America
Race, Reform, and Rebellion /
W.E.B. Du Bois: Black Radical Democrat /
Race, Reform, and Rebellion
The Great Wells of Democracy /
Afro-Cuban Voices: On Race and Identity in Contemporary Cuba
*
* * * *
The Autobiography of Medgar
Evers
A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through
His Writings, Letters, and Speeches
2006
By
Myrlie Evers-Williams and Manning Marable
In an era filled with charismatic leaders, Evers
(1925–1963) came to national attention primarily as the
victim of "the first political assassination of a major
leader of the modern Black Freedom Movement." As NAACP
field secretary in Mississippi, Evers recruited NAACP
members, desegregated schools, registered voters and
organized boycotts. The work was usually undramatic, but
always perilous. Evers's widow and historian Marable
seek to redress Evers's relative absence from the
historical record. But more than half of these 89
documents (from the years 1954–1963) are mundane monthly
reports to or business correspondence with the NAACP.
Ten Evers speeches are included along with eight
newspaper articles, four press releases, a telegram to
Eisenhower and one to Kennedy, an NAACP newsletter, a
"text fragment," a posthumous Life interview. There's no
clue to the principle of selection. With the exception
of two very brief notes to his family, there is no
personal correspondence. This monument is a tomb ready
for excavation by historians of the Civil Rights
movement, but it's not for the ordinary reader looking
for an autobiography of Medgar Evers. It reveals the
quotidian work rather than the indomitable man.—Publisher's
Weekly
*
* * * *
Evers-Williams, widow of Medgar
Evers, the Mississippi civil-rights activist and head of
the state's NAACP (who was slain in 1963), draws on her
husband's personal papers to present a portrait of a man
who understood the sacrifices he might be required to
make for the cause he believed in. Evers' memoranda,
transcribed public speeches, and personal notes present
the picture of a servant-leader, a man who worried about
the welfare of families, participated in boycotts and
protests, and strategized about the most effective means
of securing voting rights. His monthly reports included
a chronicle of the escalating violence in reaction to
the NAACP's efforts to recruit members. In an Ebony
magazine essay, Evers explained why he continued to live
and struggle in the racial cauldron of Mississippi. The
collection includes correspondence with luminaries such
as Martin Luther King Jr and Roy Wilkins, but is most
revealing of the man who is less celebrated yet helped
to lay the groundwork for the modern civil rights
movement.—Vernon Ford, Booklist
*
* * * *
The
Ballad of Medgar Evers (SNCC Freedom Singers, Chicago 20
/
Only a pawn in their game (Bob Dylan)
*
* * * *
Medgar Evers was born July 2, 1925
in Decatur, Mississippi, the son of James Evers, who was
the owner of a small farm and a sawmill worker, and a
devout woman named Jessie. James, as well as Medgar's
maternal great-grandfather Joseph Evers, were two men
that also fought for their freedom. Evers was the third
of five children, after Charles and Elizabeth. A
daughter named Ruth was the youngest. The family was
rounded out by Eva Lee and Gene (who were Jessie’s
children from a prior marriage). Determined to get the
education he deserved after the lynching of a family
friend, Evers walked twelve miles to and from school to
earn his high school diploma. In 1943 he was inducted
into the army along with his older brother Charlie.
Evers fought in France, the European Theatre of WWII and
was honorably discharged in 1945 as a Sergeant. In 1946,
Evers, along with his brother and four friends, returned
to his hometown.
In 1948, Evers enrolled at Alcorn
College (now Alcorn State University), majoring in
business administration. In college, he was on the
debate team, played football and ran track, sang in the
school choir and served as president of his junior
class. It was here that he was listed in Who’s Who in
American Colleges for his many accomplishments.
He married classmate Myrlie Beasley
on December 24, 1951, and received his BA degree the
following year. Myrlie Beasley and Medgar Evers had
three children, two boys and a girl, before his murder.
In 2001, their oldest son, Darrell Kenyatta Evers, died
of colon cancer. Their two surviving children are Reena
Denise and James Van.
Wikipedia
*
* * * *
|
Only a Pawn in Their
Game
By Bob
Dylan
A bullet from the back of a bush took
Medgar Evers' blood.
A finger fired the trigger to his name.
A handle hid out in the dark,
A hand set the spark,
Two eyes took the aim,
Behind a man's brain;
But he can't be blamed—
He's only a pawn in their game.
The South politician
preaches to the poor white man,
"You got more than the blacks, don't
complain.
You're better than them, you been
born with white skin," they explain.
And the Negro's name
Is used, it is plain,
For the politician's gain,
As he rises to fame
And the poor white remains
On the caboose of the train;
So it ain't him to blame—
He's only a pawn in their game.
The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the
governors get paid,
And the marshals and cops get the
same,
But the poor white man's used in the hands
of them all like a tool.
He's taught in his school,
From the start by the rule,
That the laws are with him
To protect his white skin,
To keep up his hate,
So he never thinks straight
'Bout the shape that he's in;
So it ain't him to blame—
He's only a pawn in their game.
From the poverty shacks, he looks from
the cracks to the tracks,
And the hoof beats pound in his brain.
And he's taught how to
walk in a pack,
Shoot in the back,
With his fist in a clinch
To hang and to lynch,
To hide 'neath the hood,
To kill with no pain,
Like a dog on a chain.
He ain't got no name;
But it ain't him to blame—
He's only a pawn in their game.
Today, Medgar Evers was buried from the
bullet he caught.
They lowered him down as a king.
But when the shadowy sun sets on the one
That fired the gun,
He'll see by his grave
On the stone that remains,
Carved next to his name,
His epitaph plain:
Only a pawn in their game. |
Bob Dylan video
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Medgar Wiley Evers
(July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963, Civil
Rights Leader, Human Rights Activist—Rewards
were offered by the governor of Mississippi and several
all-white newspapers for information about Evers's
murderer, but few came forward with information.
However, an FBI investigation uncovered a suspect, Byron
de la Beckwith, an outspoken opponent of integration and
a founding member of Mississippi's White Citizens
Council. A gun found 150 feet from the site of the
shooting had Beckwith's fingerprint on it. Several
witnesses placed Beckwith in Evers's neighborhood that
night. On the other hand, Beckwith denied shooting Evers
and claimed that his gun had been stolen days before the
incident. He too produced witnesses--one of them a
policeman--who swore before the court that Beckwith was
some 60 miles from Evers's home on the night he was
killed.
Beckwith was tried twice in Mississippi for Evers's
murder, once in 1964 and again the following year. Both
trials ended in hung juries. Sam Baily, an Evers
associate, commented in Esquire that during those years
"a white man got more time for killing a rabbit out of
season than for killing a Negro in Mississippi."
After the second trial, Myrlie Evers took her children
and moved to California, where she earned a degree from
Pomona College and was eventually named to the Los
Angeles Commission of Public Works. However, her
conviction that justice was never served in her
husband's case kept Mrs. Evers involved in the search
for new evidence. As recently as 1991, Byron de la
Beckwith was arrested a third time on charges of
murdering Medgar Evers. Beckwith was extradited to
Mississippi to await trial again, still maintaining his
innocence and still committed to the platform of white
supremacy.
The Evers Legacy
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of Medgar Evers's
story lies in the attitudes of his two sons and one
daughter. Though they experienced firsthand the
destructive ways of bigotry and hatred, Evers's children
appear to be very well-adjusted individuals. "My
children turned out to be wonderfully strong and loving
adults," Myrlie Evers concluded Ebony. "It has taken
time to heal the wounds [from their father's
assassination] and I'm not really sure all the wounds
are healed. We still hurt, but we can talk about it now
and cry about it openly with each other, and the
bitterness and anger have gone."
At the same time, Mrs. Evers asserted in People that she
hopes for Beckwith's conviction on the murder charges.
(He was, indeed, convicted after the third trial.)
"People have said, `Let it go, it's been a long time.
Why bring up all the pain and anger again?'" she
explained. "But I can't let it go. It's not finished for
me, my children or ... grandchildren. I walked side by
side with Medgar in everything he did. This [new] trial
is going the last mile of the way."
Flickr
*
* * * *
The Navy Honors a
Civil Rights Pioneer
Today in Jackson,
Mississippi, I was privileged to honor a civil rights
hero and the millions of Americans who have furthered
the cause of liberty. As Secretary of the Navy, I am
responsible for naming our ships. Today, I announced
that the first ship I will name will be the USNS Medgar
Evers.
The ship that will
carry Medgar Evers name around the world for a
generation is a T-AKE, a critically important supply
ship. They are traditionally named for famous American
pioneers, explorers, and visionaries. They celebrate the
dreams and bold action of the American spirit and they
honor men and women who have changed our country and the
world for the better - men and women like Alan Shepard,
Sacagawea, Carl Brashear, and Amelia Earhart. The ships'
namesakes represent the rich tapestry that is America.
Medgar Evers
carried on that proud tradition as a pioneer and
visionary of the civil rights movement. As a young man,
he served in France during the Second World War. Upon
returning to the United States, he took up the cause of
freedom, rose to become the Field Secretary of the NAACP
in Mississippi, and campaigned tirelessly to end
segregation and ensure equal treatment for every
American.
No less so than the
heroes who have fought and died for our country
overseas, he gave his life to defend America and its
principles when he was assassinated in his own driveway
in June of 1963.
It was an emotional
ceremony today when I announced my choice, speaking at
the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute on Citizenship and
Democracy at Jackson State University. The Institute
honors another civil rights leader from Mississippi. I
was proud to be joined today by the widow of Medgar
Evers, Mrs. Myrlie Evers-Williams, as well as by
Congressman Bennie Thompson, Jackson Mayor Harvey
Johnson, former Mississippi Governor William Winter, and
a score of other civil rights activists and
Mississippians. Sharing the moment with them was a
humbling experience for me. It reminded me of how far we
have come, but also of how much others who went before
us sacrificed on our behalf, just like the Sailors and
Marines I’m proud to serve as Secretary.
I believe today we
honored the work of legends and in a small way
reaffirmed the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that
"one day the nation would rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed - that all men are created equal."
Ray Mabus is Secretary of the Navy
posted October
09, 2009
Source:
Whitehouse
Medgar Evers—Part 1, Civil Rights Hero
/
Medgar Evers—Part 2, Civil Rights Hero
The Medgar Evers Story
/
Medgar Evers /
Mississippi Martyr
Keeping It Trim &
Burning (poem for Fannie Lou Hamer)
Amite
County Beginning
Kish Mir Tuchas Black
Power
Africa Makes Some Noise—Documentary on contemporary music from Africa
/ Straight Outta
Hunter's Point
* * *
* *
* *
* * *
 |
Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. |
"Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London
* * * * *
|
Debt: The First 5,000 Years
By David Graeber
Before there was money, there was debt. Every economics textbook says the same thing: Money was invented to replace onerous and complicated barter systems—to relieve ancient people from having to haul their goods to market. The problem with this version of history? There’s not a shred of evidence to support it. Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom. He shows that for more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods—that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors. Graeber shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to China, as well as sparking innumerable insurrections. He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion (words like “guilt,” “sin,” and “redemption”) derive in large part from ancient debates about debt, and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong. |
 |
We are still fighting these battles today without knowing it. Debt: The First 5,000 Years is a fascinating chronicle of this little known history—as well as how it has defined human history, and what it means for the credit crisis of the present day and the future of our economy.
* *
* * *
The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
* *
* * *
Ancient African Nations
* * * * *
If you like this page consider making a donation
* * * * *
Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
Enjoy!
* * * * *
The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery
* *
* * *
The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
* * * * *
* *
* * *
ChickenBones Store
(Books, DVDs, Music, and more)
posted 2 May 2010
|
