Highlights of the archival collection that civil rights icon Myrlie Evers-Williams ’68 donated to last year will be displayed starting on Aug. 26 at 800 N. Dartmouth Ave., Claremont. will be open to the public during regular library hours through Dec. 20. The exhibit will be on view in the North Atrium and throughout the second floor of the library. The .
Some highlights of the exhibit include photographs from Evers-Williams’ time as the first woman board chair of the NAACP, a letter from Congress regarding her 2007 testimony for the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act and the text of her invocation from Barack Obama’s 2013 inauguration. Her ties to local Southern California history include campaign materials from her runs for office in California’s 24th Congressional District and in the Los Angeles City Council’s 10th district, as well as photographs and ephemera from her time on the Los Angeles Board of Public Works. Each of these objects marks a series of firsts for a civic leader whose voice for change resounded well beyond her local community.
Evers-Williams enrolled at in 1964, a year after the murder of her husband, Medgar Evers. The couple had worked side by side to promote voting rights in Mississippi until Medgar was gunned down in the driveway of their home by a white supremacist in 1963.
Earning a degree in sociology from launched Evers-Williams into a remarkable career in business, civic organizations and activism. A trailblazer for Black women in the political arena, she ran for U.S. Congress in 1970 only two years out of college, persisting through skepticism and even scorn while seeking a suburban Southern California seat. She helped launch the National Women’s Political Caucus, a bipartisan organization, in 1971, and she rose to prominent positions in the corporate world, including national affairs director at Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) in Los Angeles. She was named “Woman of the Year” by Ms. Magazine in 1998 and was listed as one of the “100 Most Fascinating Black Women of the 20th Century” by Ebony magazine.
Through the exhibit gifted to her alma mater, students and visitors of all ages can see what happens when grief gives way to strength in a life dedicated to promoting equal rights. “Hopefully, someone who views this will grow to be another strong leader in our country,” says Evers-Williams.
President G. Gabrielle Starr notes that “Mrs. Evers-Williams has led in so many ways through her persistence, faith and unshakeable commitment to the cause. . . . We are honored to be entrusted with her extraordinary legacy of brilliance, strength and – yes – love.”
EXHIBIT RECEPTION
In connection with the exhibit, a reception and lecture by Lorn S. Foster, emeritus professor of politics at , will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 4:15-5:30 p.m. in the Founders Room of The Claremont Colleges Library. Like the exhibit, it is free and open to the public.