Alcorn’s Myrlie Evers honored with National Urban League Civil Rights Award
Alcorn State, Miss. (July 30, 2013) – 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.”
Mrs. Evers most recent awards include Female HBCU Faculty of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Center for HBCU Media Advocacy in June 2013.
Myrlie, the widow of civil rights martyr Medgar Evers, often has been applauded for working with Medgar, the NAACP field secretary, during the 1960s. They fought for voter rights, to end segregation in schools and public places and to integrate the University of Mississippi. After Medgar’s assassination, she continued working for justice, enjoyed a successful business career and ran for Congress twice. Myrlie was also the first African-American woman to serve on the Board of Public Works in Los Angeles. She continued to fight for justice in Medgar Evers’ death. When the case was retried in 1994, Evers and her children were present to witness the event that attracted national and international attention. Evers later served as chairwoman of the NAACP’s National Board of Directors.
Evers continues the civil rights work she started with her husband in Mississippi during the 1960s. Her work has earned her international acclaim, the opportunity to deliver the invocation at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration and numerous awards and honorary doctorates.
Established in 1910, The Urban League is the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans.
-ALCORN-
Alcorn State University is a premier comprehensive land-grant university that develops diverse students into globally-competitive leaders, and applies scientific research through collaborative partnerships that benefit the surrounding communities, state, nation, and world.
