June 12, 1963 - Mrs. Myrlie Evers (left), the widow of Medgar Evers, spoke tonight to some 500 persons at a mass meeting at the Pearl Street church in Jackson, Mississippi. Mr. Evers was murdered this morning by a sniper who remains at large. Dressed in a pale green dress, Mrs. Evers appeared tired but composed. Many women in the audience wept openly as she spoke. Referring to her husband’s death, Mrs. Evers said, “It was his wish that this Jackson movement would be one of the most successful that this nation has ever known.” Mrs. Evers, who had requested that she be given the opportunity to speak, said that her husband had spoken of death last Sunday and said that he was ready to go. “I am left with the strong determination to try to take up where he left off,” she said. “I hope that, by his death, all here and those who are not here will be able to draw some of his strength, some of his courage, and some of his determination to finish this fight. Nothing can bring Medgar back, but the cause can live on.”
