NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Myrlie Evers-Williams didn’t retreat from the spotlight following the assassination of her husband, Medgar Evers, in 1963. She commanded it – as a civil rights activist, author, politician, and educator. Her dogged determination and commitment to justice and equality has made her a success in every endeavor.
The College of New Rochelle celebrated those achievements Thursday night, March 3, during an academic convocation honoring featured speaker Evers-Williams at Holy Family Chapel. The event was a celebration of Black History Month (February) and Women’s History Month (March). Judith Huntington, President of The College of New Rochelle, presented Evers-Williams with an honorary degree, the 18th she’s received from leading colleges and universities.
“A renowned human rights champion who has spent a lifetime working toward equality for all people, Myrlie Evers-Williams personifies unwavering strength in the face of insurmountable challenge,” Huntington said.
Myrlie and Medgar Evers, who were married in 1951, became prominent members of the civil rights community, opening Mississippi’s first NAACP State Office in 1954. After her husband’s assassination, Evers-Williams continued her civil rights activism and became involved in politics. In 1970, she was a candidate to represent the 24th Congressional District of California. She later went on to become the first black woman to lead the Southern California Democratic Women’s Division and was convener of the National Women’s Political Caucus. In 1988, she became the first black woman named to the five-member Los Angeles Board of Public Works, with whom she helped oversee a budget of nearly $1 billion.
She also co-wrote two books about her husband, and, in 1999, she published her personal memoirs, Watch Me Fly: What I Learned on the Way to Becoming the Woman I was Meant to Be.
Perhaps most impressive, Evers-Williams is credited with restoring the NAACP to its original status as the country’s premier civil rights organization during her tenure as Chairperson, from 1995-98.
“Having Myrlie Evers-Williams on campus has been a wonderful hands-on learning experience for students and faculty alike,” said Dr. Amy Bass, Professor of History and Honors Program Director at The College of New Rochelle. “The work she has done, the movement she represents, the legacy she carries forward – we are so lucky to have had an opportunity to engage in living history, and hopefully students will be inspired to carry her work and her message forward.”
Evers-Williams has remained a trailblazer. In 1998, she became NAACP Chairperson-Emeritus, stepping down to create the Medgar Evers Institute – now the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Institute – to champion civil rights with a focus on history, education, and reconciliation. In 2013, President Obama tabbed her as the first layperson and first woman to deliver the invocation at a presidential inauguration. And in 2014, she established the Myrlie Evers-Williams Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities, the research arm of the Office of Population Health at the University of Mississippi’s medical center.
“With a college like The College of New Rochelle, you have an opportunity here on campus and in this community to take advantage of the best education possible,” Evers-Williams told the audience of nearly 300. “I say seize it. … Learn. Challenge the system. Be happy. Be angry. Fight – whatever is necessary – to stimulate yourselves. We are in all of this together.
“May we never stop learning. May we never stop growing. May we never cease to embrace the hope and goodness in mankind.”
Said Huntington: “Included in the mission statement of the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Institute is the goal to ‘develop new generations of socially and politically activated people by transferring knowledge, sharing wisdom, and nurturing civic engagement.’ At The College of New Rochelle, we share a congruency of mission with the Institute – in our shared belief that through education comes enlightenment, through enlightenment comes empowerment, and, empowered, we must go forth in service to others.”