Following the 1963 assassination of his beloved brother, Medgar Wiley Evers—Mississippi’s first NAACP Field Secretary—James Charles Evers returned to Mississippi and stepped into that role in 1964. He would go on to spend the next 54 years fighting for justice, civic participation, and political inclusion for all people across the state. In 1969, Evers was honored with the NAACP’s Man of the Year award for his civil rights advocacy and political leadership, including his historic election as mayor of Fayette, Mississippi—the first Black mayor of a multiracial town since Reconstruction. Though his later campaigns for governor and the U.S. Senate were unsuccessful, Evers remained politically active throughout his life, supporting candidates across party lines and encouraging Black Mississippians to participate in government and lead. He continued this work until his passing on July 22, 2020, at the age of 97.