May 19, 2025
Jackson, Mississippi’s NAACP chapter honored Medgar Evers, Winson Hudson, and Aaron Henry last week.
The local chapter of the NAACP in Jackson, Mississippi, gave posthumous honors to three civil rights trailblazers who “sacrificed everything” for the cause.
At Jackson’s NAACP monthly meeting held on May 17, it recognized Medgar Evers, Winson Hudson, and Aaron Henry for their groundbreaking contributions to the fight for civil rights, WLBT reports.
“In Mississippi, we faced many hurdles as people of color, and these folks sacrificed everything,” said Allytra Perryman, deputy director of the NAACP Conference. “Medgar Evers lost his life in a fight to make sure that Black people had the right to vote. So we carry on that spirit of grit and determination to make sure that everyone has a voice and that what happens in their lives.”
Evers, the NAACP’s first field secretary in Mississippi and a World War II Army veteran, dedicated his life to dismantling segregation and fighting for civil rights. He worked to desegregate the University of Mississippi, push for equal access to public facilities, and enforce voting rights for Black Americans.
His activism was cut short when he was assassinated outside his home in 1963 at the age of 37.
Winson Hudson, a native of Galilee, Mississippi, served as vice president of the Leake County NAACP chapter, which was founded by Evers in 1961. Deeply influenced by her grandmother, Angeline Gates Turner, who had been born into slavery, Hudson became a prominent civil rights activist.
She filed a landmark lawsuit to desegregate Leake County schools—drawing national attention—fought for voting rights, and helped establish the county’s first Head Start program.
Aaron Henry, a native of Dublin, Mississippi, led the state’s NAACP chapter and co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which famously challenged the seating of the all-white delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.
The Jackson NAACP sought to honor these civil rights icons to pay tribute to the past and issue a call to action for the ongoing pursuit of social justice and civil rights.
“We’re still moving people out to vote. We are still registering voters. We’re still handling claims of discrimination on a daily basis,” Perryman said.
“In order to know where you’re going, you need to know where you came from. And we and they, they live in a time that we have not lived; they lived in difficult times,” said Jimmy Richardson, a local and state NAACP member. “And so it’s always good to hear what they went through then. And what we’re going through now, and maybe it will give us a better look at the future.”
A key priority for the NAACP is protecting voting rights and ensuring the African American community is fully represented at the polls. As Jackson’s next mayoral election nears its June 3 date, the NAACP will be front and center.
“They need to go and ask them questions. How they feel about the future, and make sure that they are willing to implement policies that will help us down the road for the future,” Richardson said.
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