Joy-Ann Reid, the host of MSNBC’s The ReidOut & New York Times bestselling author of ‘The Man Who Sold America,’ comes to Westchester’s Iona University in New Rochelle, Sunday, February 4th to discuss her new book that traces the extraordinary lives and legacy of civil rights icons Medgar and Myrlie Evers, situating Medgar Evers’s assassination as a catalyzing moment in American history.
Myrlie Louise Beasley met Medgar Evers on her first day of college. They fell in love at first sight, married just one year later, and Myrlie left school to focus on their growing family.
Medgar became the field secretary for the Mississippi branch of the NAACP, charged with beating back the most intractable and violent resistance to black voting rights in the country. Myrlie served as Medgar’s secretary and confidant, working hand in hand with him as they struggled against public accommodations and school segregation, lynching, violence, and sheer despair within their state’s “black belt.” They fought to desegregate the intractable University of Mississippi, organized picket lines and boycotts, despite repeated terroristic threats, including the 1962 firebombing of their home, where they lived with their three young children.
On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers became the highest profile victim of Klan-related assassination of a black civil rights leader at that time; gunned down in the couple’s driveway in Jackson. In the wake of his tragic death, Myrlie carried on their civil rights legacy; writing a book about Medgar’s fight, trying to win a congressional seat, and becoming a leader of the NAACP in her own right.
In this groundbreaking and thrilling account of two heroes of the civil rights movement, Joy-Ann Reid uses Medgar and Myrlie’s relationship as a lens through which to explore the on-the-ground work that went into winning basic rights for Black Americans, and the repercussions that still resonate today.
Westchester Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, in partnership with Iona Univesity – Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging presents- An Afternoon with MSNBC Host and New York Times Best Selling Joy-Ann Reid.
Book: “Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and Love Story That Awakened America“
by Joy-Ann Reid
General Admission Ticket: Includes a copy of the book with an autographed book plate.
VIP Ticket: Includes the VIP Reception and includes a copy of the book with an autographed book plate
Additional Books: If you’re attending, you can buy additional books.
**You must attend the event to receive your book(s). No books will be mailed. **
To get your ticket click here
