by Joy-Ann Reid
First published 2024
Joy-Ann Reid examines the partnership between Medgar and Myrlie Evers, two pivotal figures in the civil rights movement. The MSNBC host and bestselling author focuses on how their personal relationship drove their activism in Mississippi during the 1950s and early 1960s. Reid traces their story from their college meeting through Medgar's work as NAACP field secretary, documenting their battles against voting restrictions, segregation, and violent intimidation. The narrative covers their efforts to desegregate the University of Mississippi, their organization of boycotts and protests, and the escalating threats they faced, including the firebombing of their family home in 1962. Reid shows how Medgar's 1963 assassination in their Jackson driveway marked a turning point in American civil rights history. The book then follows Myrlie's continuation of their shared mission, including her own leadership roles within the NAACP and her political aspirations. Reid uses their marriage as a window into the grassroots organizing that secured basic rights for Black Americans, revealing how personal sacrifice and partnership fueled social change.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, african-american, 21st-century, african-american-historical-fiction, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: partnership, social-change
Setting: Mississippi, Jackson
Period: 1950s, 1960s
352 pages · Hardcover · Mariner Books