Of Long Memory: Mississippi And The Murder Of Medgar Evers [Paperback]

Adam Nossiter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 18, 2002

The history is well known: On June 12, 1963, Mississippi's courageous NAACP chief, Medgar Evers, was gunned down by white supremacist Byron de la Beckwith. Tried twice by all-white juries, Beckwith escaped conviction for three decades. But then Mississippi began to confront its tormented past. And in the 1990s, when Beckwith was sent to jail by a crusading young prosecutor, the family of Medgar Evers finally got justice. Hailed as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a finalist for the Lillian Smith Award, Of Long Memory reveals how this remarkable reversal took place. Nossiter uses the tools of memory, history, and reportage—and the clear vantage point of an outsider, a Northerner—to portray an entire state quite literally summoning up its ghosts. A new epilogue discusses other civil rights cases now being reconsidered, and skillfully shows how the South is finding a way to create justice where none had existed before.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this resonant and absorbing narrative, Nossiter uses the 1963 murder of NAACP staffer Medgar Evers and the recent re-prosecution of assassin Byron de la Beckwith as a prism through which to examine the significant evolution in hearts, minds and government in Mississippi. Nossiter, who formerly covered Mississippi for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , tells his story mainly in deft profiles: Evers, the resolute field secretary shunned by many of the black bourgeoisie in Jackson; Beckwith, the racist supported by the white establishment, whose first two trials led to hung juries; prosecutor Bobby DeLaughter, who slowly developed a consciousness of the past. By the late 1980s, with new political leaders in place and a collective introspection in process, the state exhumed the case: information about jury tampering became known, formerly reluctant witnesses testified and Beckwith was convicted. The need for this thoughtful analysis--a more comprehensive look at the Evers case than Reed Massengill's recent Beckwith biography, Portrait of a Racist --is shown by a jury pool, black and white, almost universally ignorant of Evers.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In the 1950s and 1960s Southern segregationists frequently argued that the Civil Rights movement in the South was the work of "outside agitators" rather than local blacks. Southern blacks were said to be satisfied with the social, political, and economic status quo. Ironically, even recent books and films (e.g., Mississippi Burning) more sympathetic in their portrayals nonetheless have perpetuated the image of Southern blacks as passive people, with the principal impetus for change coming from Northern civil rights organizations and the federal government. Journalist Nossiter and historian Dittmer offer useful correctives of this image in their books on the Civil Rights movement and its participants in that most Southern of Southern states, Mississippi. More narrow in focus, Nossiter's book examines the assassination of Medgar Evers, the Mississippi field secretary for the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1963, as well as changes in Mississippi politics and culture that made possible the conviction of Byron de la Beckwith for that crime 30 years later. Dittmer provides a more comprehensive account but does not ignore the roles of national Civil Rights organizations in mobilizing and supporting black Mississippians. Moreover, he provides an excellent examination of the tactical and strategic disagreements between such organizations as the NAACP and SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). But his book's strength lies in its dicussion of the activities of black students, farmers, railway workers, and other "local people" as they struggled to improve their lives. Dittmer's book is highly recommended for academic libraries. Nossiter's work, despite shifts in perspective that reduce continuity, provides lay readers with a good account of a crime that focused national attention on the Civil Rights movement in the South.
Thomas H. Ferrell, Univ. of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (June 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306811626
• ISBN-13: 978-0306811623
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, December 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Of Long Memory: Mississippi and the Murder of Medgar Evers (Paperback)

I concur with the previous reviewer. Mr. Nossiter has produced a well-researched and fascinating chronicle of the case of Medgar Evers, including a detailed and chilling portrait of his assassin. Nossiter also effectively re-creates the eerie atmosphere of early 1960's Mississippi, where the Klan, the White Citizens' Council, and the Sovereignty Commission flourished, and where a man like Beckwith would become a sort of folk hero to his fellow racists. However, it is also a story of dogged determination and the quest for justice, as exemplified by Myrlie Evers and Bobby DeLaughter, whose efforts culminated in the long-overdue conviction of Beckwith. It is a story of tragedy and triumph, skillfully crafted by a talented and deeply insightful writer. Well done, Mr. Nossiter!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read about Mississippi, August 30, 2004

By 

A Southern Reader (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Of Long Memory: Mississippi And The Murder Of Medgar Evers (Paperback)

First, my reviewer credentials for this book. I was born in MS and lived there through the 60's. If one wants to get a real understanding of the expereience of Mississppi in the that time,
read Nossiter's book. It covers far more than just the Beckwith trial, though that part of the book in and of itself makes for a fascinating read. This is an outstanding book on so many levels.
This was truly one of those books that I sort of hoped would just never end.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, emotional and insightful., April 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Of Long Memory: Mississippi and the Murder of Medgar Evers (Paperback)

Forget the Movie. This is the book to read about the assisination of Medgar Evers and the subsequent retrial some 30 years later of the killer.

The author provides a moving and engrossing story as well as sharp analysis of the social conditions and personalities involved.