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	...	Talbot
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Professor Carter
Paul Winfield	...	Sampson
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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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

Dramatic

I just finished watching the movie on the THIS network. It's easier to watch a movie like this on TV with commercials to break up the horror of the telling.

Besides presenting the history, with dramatic performances, there were some visually striking scenes. After the students were arrested for protesting, and they were placed in cattle stockades...some girls were singing, as others stuck their heads between the rails -- showing the people being treated as animals.

The film also dealt with the reality of protest...of organizing and needing money, of people speaking out losing their jobs or contracts, of being blacklisted for fighting something wrong, and the moral dilemma of asking people to stand together for their rights at the risk of them losing it all. The film shows the progression from simple concern, to taking a small risk, to being all the way in...and yet, at each step, it offers a chance for the people to stop, and take an easier way out.

Strangely, during the commercials they advertised a movie with John Wayne making this quote, "There's right and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the other. You do the one and you're living. You do the other and you may be walking around, but you're dead as a beaver hat." Medgar Evans, and his family and supporters are still alive.

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