Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

News

Civil Rights Pioneer Myrlie Evers-Williams Has Donated Her Archival Collection To Pomona College

A Black woman who appears to be in her 60s or 70s speaks at a podium which is emblazoned with the seal of the President of the United States. She wears a grey and black coat and grey scarf, and her hair is short. Behind her President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden can be seen.
Myrlie Evers-Williams gives the invocation as U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden look on during the presidential inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 21, 2013 in Washington, DC.
(
Justin Sullivan
/
Getty Images
)

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

Myrlie Evers-Williams, a leader of the civil rights movement, has donated her archival collection to Pomona College, where she received her degree in sociology in 1968.

Evers-Williams, 89, became known nationally following the 1963 assassination of her husband, NAACP official Medgar Evers, in the driveway of their Mississippi home.

She soon moved her three children to Claremont and started over.

"It was Pomona College, it was the teachers here who helped me move ahead and come out of this feeling of drowning," she said in a statement given to the college. "And it was my being here at Pomona with the instructors here and the other people who did not smother me. They gave me space. But they surrounded me by love, understanding and saying, ‘Yes, you can.’”

Support for LAist comes from

Gabrielle Starr, the president of Pomona College, said school officials had been working with Evers-Williams for five years to plan the donation.

"It feels extraordinary," Starr said. "This is one of the most remarkable and intimate collections of our contemporary historical moment that exists anywhere. And it's particularly special for us because those of us who've grown up in the shadow of the civil rights movement see people like Myrlie as giants."

Among Evers-Williams' many accomplishments are a run for U.S. Congress, helping to launch the National Women’s Political Caucus, serving as chair of the NAACP and becoming the first woman and layperson to give the invocation at a presidential inauguration, which she did for President Obama's second inauguration in 2013.

"She was in her twenties when all this story began to unfold nationally," said Starr. "She was a young mother. She was suddenly almost alone in the world. And the courage that it took for her to do all the extraordinary things that she's done, it's an inspiration."

According to the college, the newly donated collection includes personal items, including buttons and photos from her run for Congress; photos of her with presidents ranging from Kennedy to Carter to Clinton; correspondence related to her preparation from the Obama inauguration; her Pomona College ID card and more.

Starr said that as more and more people are able to view the archive, she hopes it provides meaning and purpose for those who may follow in Evers-Williams' footsteps.

Support for LAist comes from

"In a world where the overwhelming nature of conflict and violence and discord can really seem to wash over all of us, she stands forward as a light, and that gives us an opportunity to connect with human power, and the human spirit," Starr said. "I hope the next Myrlie Evers is out there and is able to be inspired by seeing what this one has done."

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist