As part of the city of Albany, Georgia’s 2026 Black History Month theme, “Past, Present & Purpose,” Reena Evers-Everette visited the Albany Civil Rights Institute on Wednesday, Feb. 18, to speak about civil rights legacy, leadership and historical preservation.

Evers-Everette is the daughter of Medgar Evers, the Mississippi National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) field secretary who was assassinated in 1963 for his efforts to end segregation and expand voting rights. Today, Evers-Everette serves as executive director of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, where she promotes civic engagement, education and social justice. 

During her remarks, Evers-Everette shared personal memories of her parents’ activism and urged continued efforts to preserve civil rights history. In coverage of the event, the Albany Herald reported that she emphasized the responsibility of places like the Albany Civil Rights Institute to safeguard historical truth. 

“We have to make sure that in this building we collect all of our history, we collect the truth of our history so that the [young] generation I just spoke about will be aware,” Evers-Everette said.

Evers-Everette also emphasized the personal value of preserving her parents’ legacy. 

“Our roots are critical,” Evers-Everette said. “In the world, my parents are frozen…documentaries, some sound bites, speeches…but to me it’s the [story] of their love. It’s the knowledge, it’s the security knowing they will always be with me, no matter where I go.”

Evers-Everette connected the preservation of Black history to present-day challenges, noting the importance of protecting it for future generations. 

“This is the 100th year of the celebration of Black history,” Evers-Everette said. “Black history is all of our history. Over the years, I’ve talked about how important it is not to be racist. We are now again in the fight of (the) erasure of Black history.”

The event was hosted at the Albany Civil Rights Institute, a museum and research center dedicated to commemorating the 1960s civil rights movement in southwest Georgia. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the institute includes the Old Mt. Zion Baptist Church, the site of the first mass meeting of the Albany Movement. 

The movement later drew support from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Congress of Racial Equality and the NAACP in a sustained effort to end segregation in Albany. 

Part of the institute’s mission is to collect oral histories from participants in the Albany Movement and partner with the school system in Dougherty County and Albany State University to create educational resources using the museum’s database of memorabilia, photographs, documents and recordings.

According to the institute’s website, “[The Albany Civil Rights Institute] brilliantly captures the stories of ordinary people who became effective change agents in their community.”

At the event, Albany mayor Bo Dorough presented Evers-Everette with a key to the city, recognizing her contributions and her family’s enduring legacy. 

On GCSU’s campus, Dasia Brown, a junior English creative writing and philosophy aesthetics double major and president of the Black Student Alliance (BSA), said the organization continues to promote that legacy through programming and advocacy. 

“Medgar Evers’ legacy is recognized as a unique call to action, specifically inciting activist movement within the student body,” Brown said. “The BSA continues this legacy by maintaining a discernible mission to keep Black history and culture alive and prevalently represented in a predominantly white campus and atmosphere.”

Brown said the organization works to keep civil rights history visible by hosting activities and events, inviting speakers, organizing field trips and creating a safe haven for students of color and their allies.

“Beyond fun membership activities, the BSA ensures that the legacy placed during the civil rights movement is shared openly and positively across campus,” Brown said. 

Even for students who were unable to attend the event, Brown said visits from the descendants of civil rights leaders can serve as a reminder to continue the efforts for justice that those leaders began.

According to Brown, Evers-Everette’s visit serves “as a reminder that past struggles connect to our present purpose, in which the work is not done, injustice still exists today. For students who did not attend this event, you can still examine the history she comes from and inspire students to carry on that torch when these moments reveal themselves.”

To learn more about local civil rights history, visit the Albany Civil Rights Institute’s website at downtown.albanyga.gov/Attractions/Albany-Civil-Rights-Institute or connect with BSA on Instagram at @gc_bsa.