There are almost too many people to thank for their support and assistance in bringing this project to life. But I will begin with Mrs. Myrlie Evers-Williams, who gave so generously of her time, on the phone and in person, to talk with me about her remarkable life and marriages. My dear Soror, you are the best of Black women, of all women, of civil rights leaders, and of icons. Thank you for your voice—for its rich melody and resonant strength. You inspire me and make me want to make more of my own life and contributions to the world. Bless you in all things.
Many thanks also to Ms. Myrlie and Medgar’s children: sweet Darrell in spirit, who spoke so powerfully in his life, as an artist, as a man, and as a survivor; and in the living realm: James Van Dyke “Van” Evers and Reena Evers Everette, who helped to facilitate my interviews with Ms. Myrlie and, in Reena’s case, guided me and my team toward so many remarkable people in Jackson, Mississippi, who knew and loved the Evers family. Reena, thank you for sharing your story, your childhood home, the incredible museum you and your family birthed, and your precious family archives with us, and for allowing me to commune with so many change makers, your amazing mom included. Van, thank you for sharing your home, your beautiful family, and your mom’s illustrious presence. I also thank the great Chris Fleming, who is as great a coordinator and connection maker as there is in the world, and whose love for Ms. Myrlie and the Evers family radiates through everything he does.
I cannot leave out the fabulous Evers cousins: Carolyn Evers Cockrell, Charlene Evers Kreel, Sheila Evers Blackmon, and Wanda Evers, plus the entire team and staff at WMPR, the late Charles Evers’s forever radio home. Thanks also to the Evers Institute and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and its patient and kind deputy director of programs and communications, Stephanie Morrisey, for all her help and guidance.
Thanks also to Keena Nichell Graham of the National Parks Service, whose loving care of the Evers home and brilliant insights into its and the Evers family’s history is steeped in unteachable grace. Whadatah, my sister!
And now to the Guynes Street gang! I salute the late and fabulous Johnnie Pearl Young, who welcomed us into her home and gave so generously of her time to share her story with us—in glorious red lipstick, I might add! And the wonderful Carolyn Wells Gee, who shared her home and her memories of her precious parents, to tell the story of the singular trauma of her youth. Thank you so much to the Sweets: Grace Britton Sweet; her son, Dennis Sweet III; her daughter, Judge Denise Sweet Owens; and to all the residents of this miraculous Black community.
Many thanks also to the great Jerry Mitchell, who shared so much journalistic and personal wisdom, and who was an invaluable resource in writing this book. Thanks also to the many warriors of the movement: Hezekiah Watkins, James Meredith and Hazel Meredith Hall, Bernard Lafayette, Fred Douglas Moore, Wendell Paris, Rev. Amos Brown, Sen. Michael Mitchell, Rev. Shirley Harrington, Fred Clark, Flonzie Brown-Wright, Dr. Robert Smith, Rev. Daphne Chamberline, the wonderful Frank Figgers, who was our constant guide and conscience in Jackson, and Rev. Ed King, who had so many stories to tell, I couldn’t fit them all in this book. Many thanks also to Glendora mayor Johnnie B. Thomas; Mound Bayou mayor Darryl Johnson and his brother and museum director Herman Johnson; the fabulous Dr. Cassie Sade Turnipseed, assistant professor of history at Jackson State University’s Department of History and Philosophy, who shared her knowledge of Mississippi’s “cotton kingdom” and the incredible work of sculptor Ed Dwight with us; Dr. J. Janice Coleman of Alcorn State University; Pamela Junior, director of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum; and Tougaloo professor Daphne Chamberlain; as well as Mrs. Annette Collins-Rollins of Rollins Funeral Home.
I cannot confer enough thanks to my incredible and diligent research team and road warriors: Dr. Angela Pashayan (the ultimate planner and organizer), king of the deep-dive historical spreadsheet; Kamryn Nelson, my phenomenal fact checker and friend; Sharon Gaffney; and my partner in crime, genealogy research guru, and personal superhero, Shauntay Hampton Prewitt; along with her assistants, Kaiah Amira Warr and Justice D. Prewitt, as well as Joseph Ryals, Jason and my thirty-plus-year friend who wielded the camera on our incredible journey to Jackson.
Many thanks also to the wonderful people of the Mississippi Delta: Betty Campbell, Otha Campbell, and all the folks at Betty’s Place in Indianola, who showed us such a great time and taught us what it’s like to experience true Mississippi Delta hospitality; chef Enrika Williams, who kept our bellies full and our cheeks sore with smiles in Jackson (as well as her amazing mama); Tracy Beal, who guided us through these communities with an easy, informative flair; and Gary, whose home, in the shadow of a former residence of a Mississippi Sovereignty Commission founder, was our refuge.
A salute through the universal plane goes to the late Manning Marable, who collaborated with Ms. Myrlie to compile a phenomenal catalog of Medgar’s letters, NAACP field reports, and documentation of his brief but powerful life journey, as well as to the late John Salter, James Baldwin, Lena Horne, Dick Gregory, Charles Evers, and Tom Dent, whose insights I scoured the archival universe for and who were such an important part of Medgar and Myrlie’s story. And in this earthly plane: Dr. Bernice King, Minyon Moore, Bishop William Barber, Latosha Brown, former Maryland state senator Michael Bowen Mitchell, Rev. Mark Thompson, Joe Madison (the Black Eagle), Derrick Johnson, and Ben Jealous of the NAACP.
And now to my book team: the amazing Henrys—Henry Ferris, my indispensable and indefatigable editor, three books and counting, who makes my lengthy thoughts concise, and sidelines as my cheerleader, collaborator, and coach; and Henry Reisch, who does triple duty as my agent, big brother, and friend. And in the pantheon of great and good people, my literary agent, Suzanne Gluck, stands as tall as she is diminutive in real life. Thank you always for making a path for me. And Mariner Books’ Peter Hubbard, I cannot thank you enough for believing in what I can do and for giving me the space and grace to do it.
I close with endless thanks to my best friend, documentary film collaborator, coparent, and amazing husband, Jason Mark Anthony Reid—who has been on this journey with me for three decades running—and who played a vital role in this ongoing mission to bring new life to the Evers story, including documenting on video the key interviews for this book. And to the sources of my joy: Winsome, Jmar, and Miles Reid, thank you for keeping me smiling, laughing, and posting silly things to the family group thread through every trial and turn. I love my family and they are my light.
I dedicated this book to Prudence Gibbs Gilbert, otherwise known as my sweet Auntie Dolly, because she is the person who loved romantically with the greatest fearlessness and ferocity of any of the women I know. And like Miss Myrlie, she endured the loss of great love twice. And in my siblings’ darkest hour, when we lost our beloved mom, her big sister, she opened her home to three young people in desperate need of the shelter of love. I love you madly, Auntie Dolly.
And last, I send up thanks and praises into the eternal universe to Medgar Wiley Evers. Thank you for fighting for our freedom, for loving your family, your country, your state, and your people unapologetically, and for showing us how to do the same. Thank you for being.