James Van Evers is a famous personality, who attributes his fame to his father’s activism. Medger Wiley Evers’ Van’s father was assassinated when Van was only a young boy. The civil rights activist was pushing for black people to have voting rights when he was shot dead by someone unhappy about the agendas he was pushing.
Despite Van losing his father at a young age and lacking memories of activities they did together, Van has talked highly of his parents, especially his father. While he is proud of his father’s work, he chose to follow a different career in photography, unlike being an activist.
James Van Evers is also an actor who has featured in films like Women in the Movement, Black Cake, and Duster. So, what is Van up to?
Early Life
James Van Evers was born on January 10, 1960, as the youngest son of Medgar Wiley Evers and Myrlie Evers Williams. James’s early childhood came with challenges, especially because of the things that his parents were pushing for.
Even after his father was assassinated, his mother continued with his legacy and pushed for his justice. The assassinator lived freely for three decades after killing Evers, before he was imprisoned for life.
James was cared for by relatives due to his mother’s busy schedule, as she continued with her late husband’s work. James grew up with his two older brothers.
Career
James Van is a successful actor and commercial photographer doing portraits, editorial work, and photography on television shows. Talking of his career, Van has disagreed with people who have always judged him for not continuing with his father’s legacy.
Van says that anyone who judges him has not been in the position he has been in, and having to live without the memoirs of his father is something he doesn’t want for his sons. As a result, Van decided that activism was not his calling, which is why he focused on photography and acting.
Wife and Family
Van is a proud father and husband. He is a father to two sons who he spends most of his time with. Van explains that he never got the opportunity to do things like play ball in the park and other staff with his father. Van feels like the most he can do to his kids is give them what he never had.
While Van does not have many memoirs of his father, his love for photography is something that he is glad he shares with him. His father would walk everywhere with a camera, and it is something that he has turned into a career.
In 2013, Van’s sons Alex and Nolan shook President Obama’s hand. The family was invited to the presidential viewing and Van’s mother was proud to see that whatever the husband was fighting for came to pass eventually.
The Assassination of James Van Evers’s Father
Van Evers’s father was assassinated when he was getting home from a late-night meeting. The Veres family received death threats regularly and they prepared the children on how to deal with the situation.
Van and his brothers watched as their father bled after being shot and he died shortly after being received in the hospital. Byron De La Beckwith was sentenced to life imprisonment on February 5, 1994, after having lived as a free man for three decades after the murder of Evers.
