For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story 

Based on the life and times of NAACP field secretary and Mississippi civil rights leader Medgar Evers, assassinated in 1963.

Director:

Michael Schultz

Writers:

Ossie Davis, Myrlie Evers (book)

Stars:

Howard E. Rollins Jr., Irene Cara, Margaret Avery

1 win.

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Howard E. Rollins Jr.	...	Medgar Evers
Irene Cara	...	Myrlie Evers
Margaret Avery	...	Dottie
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Gloster Current
Laurence Fishburne	...	Jimbo Collins (as Larry Fishburme)
Janet MacLachlan	...	Mildred (as Janet McLaughlan)
Thalmus Rasulala
Dick Anthony Williams
Paul Winfield
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Crysler	...	Priest
Janice E Harris	...	Maybelle

Storyline

This movie traces the life of Medgar Evers, the former insurance salesman turned field secretary for the NAACP, who was instrumental in organizing boycotts against discriminating southern white merchants and the desegregation of the University of Mississippi. Although Evers truly believed that the Constitution included the rights within for each American citizen, no matter what color or class, his battle for equality would shockingly conclude with his assassination at the hand of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith on June 12, 1963.

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Plot Keywords:

medgar evers | mississippi | biography episode | drama episode | black activist | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 March 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

For Us, the Living

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charles Fries Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where Medgar Evers solicits community leaders and community members to sign the first petition, was actually filmed in an Atlanta, Georgia church located on 470 Whitehall Street: Denson Temple Peoples Free Methodist Church.

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Connections

Followed by America Undercover: Southern Justice: The Murder of Medgar Evers (1994)

User Reviews

Earnest, Important, Sad

Medgar Evers might have been forgotten if not for Rob Reiner's ambitious but flawed "Ghosts Of Mississippi." But if one were just to watch that film, one would only know Evers as a dead martyr with a brave widow (Myrlie Evers-Williams), a determined newspaper reporter (Jerry Mitchell) and a brilliant lawyer (Bobby DeLaughter) seeking to bring his killer to justice. However you would not know much about who Medgar Evers was or what he tried to do.

This very earnest film begins and ends with Irene Cara's dramatic reading of Myrlie Evers' words. In between, patient viewers are rewarded with a moving portrait of a determined, dedicated, and doomed man whose life was spent in a noble cause.

Don't expect big stars or flashy production values. Just watch and be absorbed into the life of a great man. THEN watch ""Ghosts Of Missippi!"