Charles Evers


James Charles Evers was an American civil rights activist, businessman, disc jockey, and politician. Evers was known for his role in the civil rights movement along with his younger brother Medgar Evers. After serving in World War II, Evers began his career as a disc jockey at WHOC in Philadelphia, Mississippi. In 1954, he was made the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People State Voter Registration chairman. After his brother's assassination in 1963, Evers took over his position as field director of the NAACP in Mississippi. In this role, he organized and led many demonstrations for the rights of African Americans.
In 1969, Evers was named "Man of the Year" by the NAACP. On June 3, 1969, Evers was elected in Fayette, Mississippi, as the first African-American mayor in Mississippi in the post-Reconstruction era, following passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which enforced constitutional rights for citizens.
At the time of Evers's election as mayor, the town of Fayette had a population of 1,600 of which 75% was African-American and almost 25% white; the white officers on the Fayette city police "resigned rather than work under a black administration," according to the Associated Press. Evers told reporters "I guess we will just have to operate with an all-black police department for the present. But I am still looking for some whites to join us in helping Fayette grow." Evers then outlawed the carrying of firearms within city limits.
He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1971 and the United States Senate in 1978, both times as an independent candidate, and in 1989, Evers was defeated for re-election after serving sixteen years as mayor. In his later life, he became a Republican, endorsing Ronald Reagan in 1980, and more recently Donald Trump in 2016. This diversity in party affiliations throughout his life was reflected in his fostering of friendships with people from a variety of backgrounds, as well as his advising of politicians from across the political spectrum. After his political career ended, he returned to radio and hosted his own show, Let's Talk. In 2017, Evers was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame for his contributions to the music industry.

Early life and education

Charles Evers was born in Decatur, Mississippi, on September 11, 1922, to James Evers, a laborer, and Jesse Wright Evers, a maid. He was the eldest of four children; Medgar Evers was his younger brother. He attended segregated public schools, which were typically underfunded in Mississippi following the exclusion of African Americans from the political system by disenfranchisement after 1890. Evers graduated from Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi.

Career

During World War II, Charles and Medgar Evers both served in the United States Army. Charles fell in love with a Philippine woman while stationed overseas. He could not marry her and bring her home to his native Mississippi because the state's constitution prohibited interracial marriages.
Before and after the war, Evers participated in bootlegging operations, prostitution, and numbers in Mississippi and Chicago. He revealed this part of his past in 1971 prior to his campaign for governor. He said he was not proud of it, but was proud that he had changed his life and left such crime activities far behind.
In 1949, Evers began a career in radio as a disc jockey at WHOC in Philadelphia, Mississippi. After serving a year of reserve duty following the Korean War, he settled in Philadelphia, Mississippi, where he operated "a hotel, restaurant, cab service and gas station, became a disc jockey and promoted prostitution and bootlegging".

Civil rights activism

In Mississippi about 1951, brothers Charles and Medgar Evers grew interested in African freedom movements. They were interested in Jomo Kenyatta and the rise of the Kikuyu tribal resistance to colonialism in Kenya, known as the Mau Mau uprising as it moved to open violence. Along with his brother, Charles became active in the Regional Council of Negro Leadership, a civil rights organization that promoted self-help and business ownership. Between 1952 and 1955, Evers often spoke at the RCNL's annual conferences in Mound Bayou, a town founded by freedmen, on such issues as voting rights.
, June 1963
Around 1956, Evers' entrepreneurial gifts and his civil rights activism landed him in trouble in Philadelphia. He left town and moved to Chicago, Illinois. There, he fell into a life of hustling, running numbers for organized crime, and pimping. He documented these activities in his 1971 autobiography, Evers. His brother Medgar continued to be involved in civil rights, becoming field secretary and head of the NAACP in Mississippi.
On June 12, 1963, Byron De La Beckwith, a member of a Ku Klux Klan chapter, fatally shot Evers' brother, Medgar, in Mississippi as he arrived home from work. Evers died at the hospital in Jackson. Evers was working in Chicago at the time of his brother's death. He was shocked and deeply upset by his brother's assassination. Over the opposition of more establishment figures in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People such as Roy Wilkins, Evers took over his brother's post as head of the NAACP in Mississippi. A decade after his death, Evers and blues musician B.B. King created the Medgar Evers Homecoming Festival, an annual three-day event held the first week of June in Mississippi.

Mayor of Fayette

In 1969, following passage of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, which authorized federal enforcement of the right to vote, Evers was elected mayor of Fayette, Mississippi. He was the first African-American mayor elected in his state since Reconstruction. In a rural area dominated by cotton plantations, Fayette had a majority of black residents. Its minority white community was known to be hostile toward blacks.
Evers' election as mayor had great symbolic significance statewide and attracted national attention. The NAACP named Evers the 1969 Man of the Year. Author John Updike mentioned Evers in his popular novel Rabbit Redux. Evers popularized the slogan, "Hands that picked cotton can now pick the mayor."
Evers served many terms as mayor of Fayette. Admired by some, he alienated others with his inflexible stands on various issues. Evers did not like to share or delegate power. Evers lost the Democratic primary for mayor in 1981 to Kennie Middleton. Four years later, Evers defeated Middleton in the primaries and won back the office of mayor. In 1989, Evers lost the nomination once again to political rival Kennie Middleton. In his response to the defeat, Evers accepted his defeating citing that he was tired and that: "Twenty years is enough. I'm tired of being out front. Let someone else be out front."

Political influence

Evers endorsed Ronald Reagan for President of the United States during the 1980 United States presidential election. Evers later attracted controversy for his support of judicial nominee Charles W. Pickering, a Republican, who was nominated by President George H. W. Bush for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals. Evers criticized the NAACP and other organizations for opposing Pickering, as he said the candidate had a record of supporting the civil rights movement in Mississippi.
Evers befriended a range of people from sharecroppers to presidents. He was an informal adviser to politicians as diverse as Lyndon B. Johnson, George C. Wallace, Ronald Reagan and Robert F. Kennedy. On the other hand, Evers severely criticized such national leaders as Roy Wilkins, Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown and Louis Farrakhan over various issues.
Evers was a member of the Republican Party for 30 years when he spoke warmly of the 2008 election of Barack Obama as the first black President of the United States. During the 2016 presidential election Evers supported Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

Electoral campaigns

In 1968, Evers used volunteer armed guards to protect his Jackson residence during the campaign when he competed with six white candidates for the vacant congressional seat which became open when John Bell Williams was elected governor.
In 1971, Evers ran in the gubernatorial general election, but was defeated by Democrat William "Bill" Waller, 601,222 to 172,762. Waller had prosecuted the murder case of suspect Byron De La Beckwith. When Waller gave a victory speech on election night, Evers drove across town to a local TV station to congratulate him. A reporter later wrote that
Waller's aides learned Evers was in the building and tried to hustle the governor-elect out of the studio as soon as the interview ended. They were not quite quick enough. Surrounded by photographers, reporters, and television crews, Evers approached Waller's car just as it was about to pull out. Waller and his wife were in the back seat. "I just wanted to congratulate you," said Evers. "Whaddya say, Charlie?" boomed Waller. His wife leaned across with a stiff smile and shook the loser's hand. During the campaign Evers told reporters that his main purpose in running was to encourage registration of black voters.

In 1978, Evers ran as an independent for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Democrat James O. Eastland. He finished in third place behind his opponents, Democrat Maurice Dantin and Republican Thad Cochran. He received 24 percent of the vote, likely siphoning off African-American votes that would have otherwise gone to Dantin. Cochran won the election with a plurality of 45 percent of the vote. With the shift in white voters moving into the Republican Party in the state, Cochran was continuously re-elected to his Senate seat. After his failed Senate race, Evers briefly switched political parties and became a Republican.
In 1983, Evers ran as an independent for governor of Mississippi but lost to the Democrat Bill Allain. Republican Leon Bramlett of Clarksdale, also known as a college All-American football player, finished second with 39 percent of the vote.

Books

Evers wrote two autobiographies or memoirs: Evers, written with Grace Halsell and self-published; and Have No Fear, written with Andrew Szanton and published by John Wiley & Sons.

Personal life

Evers was briefly married to Christine Evers until their marriage ended in annulment. In 1951, Evers married Manie Magee, with whom he had four daughters. The couple divorced in June 1974. Evers lived in Brandon, Mississippi, and served as station manager of WMPR 90.1 FM in Jackson.
On July 22, 2020, Evers died in Brandon at age 97.

Media portrayal

Evers was portrayed by Bill Cobbs in the 1996 film Ghosts of Mississippi.

Honors