Myrlie Evers-Williams, chairperson of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, returned "home to Mississippi" on February 26 for a Black History Month celebration and address, sponsored in part by the Center.

Before an overflow crowd of 900 plus in Fulton Chapel on the University campus, Evers-Williams delivered a frank and heartfelt assessment of race relations today. Without the use of notes or text, Evers-Williams gave a speech that was both inspired and inspiring. Punctuated by frequent eruptions of applause and capped by a prolonged standing ovation, her remarks fixed most of the audience at the edge of their seats.

Gracious but ever vigilant, the 63-year-old Vicksburg native challenged today's youth to capitalize upon opportunities not available to previous generations of African Americans: "I say to the students here tonight, take advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow," she said. "You then have a responsibility to give back to your country and your people."

Though much of her speech concerned what the future promises for our region and country, Evers-Williams did not shy away from revisiting the poignant events that precipitated her first exposure to the University of Mississippi, when, in 1953, her husband sought and was denied admission to the University of Mississippi Law School. "Regardless of what has happened in my life, regardless of what happened in Medgar's life, this is and was his state," she said. "This visit is a coming home for this Mississippian. I could say it's bittersweet, but I choose not to say that. There is a degree of anger, but also a lot of love."

Earlier in the afternoon, graduate students from the University addressed a crowd of high school students from Memphis, Tennessee, and Columbus, Mississippi. John Cox, English doctoral candidate, spoke of the power of student activism; Traye McCool, a Southern Studies graduate student, shared his research on the Negro league baseball; and Caroline Herring, also a Southern Studies graduate student, told of her research on the Mississippi Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching. After a brief question and answer session the students headed to Fulton Chapel for the Evers-Williams speech.

Following the speech, at a reception held in Barnard Observatory and cosponsored by the Center and the Civil Rights Commemoration Foundation (CRCF), a capacity crowd was on hand to welcome Evers-Williams home. Between songs by the gospel choir from the Church of God Our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ of Bruce, Mississippi, Ann Abadie, the Center's associate director, presented Evers-Williams with signed copies of Center publications, including the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, and John T. Edge, CRCF president, told the crowd of recent progress in efforts to erect a sculptural commemoration of the struggle for equal access to education in the state of Mississippi.

Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the University are invited to assist with the effort. Tax-deductible contributions, payable to the Civil Rights Commemoration Fund, can be mailed to the Center or to the University of Mississippi Foundation, P.O. Box 249, University, MS 38677.  By John T. Edge