For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story

Last updated

For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story
GenreDrama
Based onFor Us, the Living
by Myrlie Evers-Williams
William Peters
Written by Ossie Davis
J. Rotcop
Directed by Michael Schultz
Starring Howard Rollins
Irene Cara
Margaret Avery
Roscoe Lee Browne
Music byGerald Fried
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producer Charles W. Fries
ProducerKen Rotcop
CinematographyAlan Kozlowski
EditorsHarry Keramidas
Thomas Penick
Running time90 min.
Production company Charles Fries Productions
Original release
Network PBS
ReleaseMarch 22, 1983 (1983-03-22)

For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story is a 1983 American made-for-television biographical film based on the 1967 book, For Us, the Living, by Myrlie Evers-Williams and William Peters. [1] It was broadcast on the PBS television program American Playhouse on March 22, 1983.

Contents

Medgar Evers' gravesite Medgar Evers, Assassinated Civil Rights Hero (The Peace Hat).jpg
Medgar Evers' gravesite

Plot

Howard Rollins stars as the assassinated NAACP civil rights activist Medgar Evers, while Irene Cara co-stars as his wife (and future NAACP chairperson) Myrlie. The film concentrates on Medgar Evers, an ex-insurance agent turned activist, in the final years of his life as the first NAACP field secretary in Mississippi. In 1954, he is involved in a boycott against white merchants and was instrumental in eventually desegregating the University of Mississippi in 1962. His home in Jackson, Mississippi is besieged by bigots, and he and his family are threatened with dire consequences. Myrlie Evers with her children were often at home alone when fire bombs and bricks were thrown against their home and through their windows. However, The Everses continued to work towards the goal of integrating the racially polarized. Medgar Evers truly believed The Constitution to include the rights within were for each American citizen, no matter color, age, class or education. On June 12, 1963, the 37-year-old Medgar Evers is shot to death in front of his home by white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith.

Cast

ActorRole
Howard Rollins Medgar Evers
Irene Cara Myrlie Evers
Margaret Avery Dottie
Roscoe Lee Browne Gloster Current
Laurence Fishburne Jimbo Collins
Paul Winfield Sampson
Janet MacLachlanMildred
Selema Perry BerryCommunity Member in Church
The Denson Temple Peoples Free Methodist Church Denson Temple Peoples Free Methodist Church Inc. .jpg
The Denson Temple Peoples Free Methodist Church
Home depicted in For Us The Living, where Evers and his family lived, is now the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. Medgar Evers house.jpg
Home depicted in For Us The Living, where Evers and his family lived, is now the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument.

Awards

YearResultAwardCategoryRecipient
1984Winner Writers Guild of America Award Adapted Drama AnthologyOssie Davis and J. Rotcop
June 13, 1963, the rifle used to kill Medgar Evers contained latent fingerprints on the telescopic site. Evers was shot off Delta Drive, Jackson, Mississippi 6.13, 1963. Rifle that killed Medgar Evers. Located latent fingerprints on telescopic site. Medgar was shot off Delta Drive, Jackson, Miss..png
June 13, 1963, the rifle used to kill Medgar Evers contained latent fingerprints on the telescopic site. Evers was shot off Delta Drive, Jackson, Mississippi

See also

References

  1. Evers-Williams, Myrlie; Peters, William (1996). For Us, the Living. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN   978-0-87805-841-9.