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Jun 30, 1953 - Feb 18, 2001
Darrell Kenyatta Evers, son of slain NAACP Field Secretary Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers-Williams, Chairman-emeritus of the NAACP National Board of Directors, succumbed to colon cancer on Sunday, February 18, 2001. He was 47 years old.
Evers was 9 years old when his father, returning from work to their Jackson, Miss., home, was shot and killed on June 12, 1963. Byron De La Beckwith VI, a fertilizer salesman, was convicted of the murder in 1994 and received a life sentence; he died in January 2001. In the 1996 film Ghosts of Mississippi, which dramatized the Evers family's efforts to bring Beckwith to justice, Darrell Evers played himself.
Darrell Evers, who was born in Mound Bayou, Miss., on June 30, 1953, was the oldest of the Evers children and was expected by many to follow his parents into civil rights work. In 1962, Darrell Evers was one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that resulted in the integration of Mississippi public schools. Evers subsequently turned to art to express his commitment to civil rights. He studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., and became an acclaimed painter whose work was collected by Henry Luce II and designer Vidal Sassoon. His paintings, including "Oh My God, They've Moved in Next Door," reflect Evers' use of art as an activist medium.
In the 1990s, Evers and his wife, Lauren, founded Intellikey Labs in Long Beach, Calif. Intellikey became one of the nation's largest DVD quality-control agencies. Evers also volunteered frequently in the Los Angeles Public Schools.
Darrell Evers is survived by his wife; a son, Keanan; his mother, Myrlie Evers-Williams of Bend, Ore.; a sister, Reena Evers-Everette of Los Angeles; and a brother, James Van Dyke Evers of Los Angeles. Messages and memorial contributions can be sent to the Medgar Evers Institute, c/o Myrlie Evers-Williams Associates, 15 South West Colorado, Suite 310, Bend, Oregon, 97702.
Darrell Evers Watercolor "Hummingbird"
The front cover June 28, 1963 issue of LIFE featured one of the most stirring pictures of the Civil Rights era: a dignified, deeply grieving Myrlie Evers comforting her weeping son, Darrell Kenyatta, at Evers’ funeral. Photo Credit: LIFE
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Christine Pedroni (1970)
Darrell and I became immediate friends when he first came to CHS we had great times together i remember going out to the Ontario Motor Speedway together and all we ever did was laugh and have good talks. I have been wanting to post something here about him for a while and now I would like to say that Darrell has always stayed in my thoughts and memories.
Christine Pedroni
Thomas NeSmith (1970)
I met Darrell when his family moved into the house two doors up on Northwestern Dr in the summer of 1964. We were pretty much best friends spending a lot of time together. I would comment on Darrell's slow southern drawl and he would counter that it was difficult to understand me because I talked so fast.
My hair fascinated Darrell. He would put his hand through my hair and wonder about how soft it was. I would rub Darrell's hair and say it felt like a rug. It wasn't weird. We were 11 years old.
My little brother and I and Darrell would often make up words and tease each other for fun. I remember one day in '65 when we were running down the street teasing each other. We got to Harrison Avenue... and wouldn't you know, Guy Warfel, the principal of El Roble Intermediate School came driving along and stopped. He gave me a big lecture about... hmm... don't really remember the content of the lecture... but it was very stern. After that... It was Darrell's turn to tease the hell out of me... and we laughed about it all the way back to our houses.
Here's a pic of my little brother, myself and the Evers on a trip to Disneyland in March 1968:
(BTW... I remember hearing on the radio on the way home that LBJ was quitting the 1968 presidential race)
Rawl Gelinas (1971)
I met Darrell running track together. He was a solid athlete also playing football for Claremont HS. We ran the 440 relay several times in competition and he was a great team player, important for any relay race. One of the things I remember about Darrell was how mature and "together" he was. Yet he as was also very approachable and had a quiet dignity about him that inspired others. On the track field, he led by example. When I heard of his death I was shocked at his young age. His life seems to have been by all accounts a real class act and his untimely death was just one more tragedy in a life full of it.