Alcorn State University has commissioned sculptor Ed Dwight of Denver, Colorado, to create a larger-than-life monument of Medgar Evers for the university’s Lorman, Mississippi, campus. Evers, an alumnus of Alcorn State, was one of the key leaders of the civil rights movement in Mississippi until he was assassinated in the driveway of his home in 1963.
In accepting the commission, Dwight said, “I am honored and privileged to be chosen to work on Medgar’s statue. He is one of the heroes that were not properly honored and I am happy to see that Alcorn has stepped up to the plate.”
Ed Dwight is a native of Kansas City. His father was an infielder for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League. Dwight joined the Air Force in 1953 and became a test pilot. After graduating from Arizona State University in 1961 with a degree in aeronautical engineering, he was accepted into the astronaut training program, the first African American to be trained in the space flight program. He left the space program in 1966, never having the opportunity to fly in space.
After working as an engineer, in the mid-1970s Dwight made a career change earning a master of fine arts degree at the University of Denver. He has constructed more than 35 major monuments including the Black Patriots Memorial on The Mall in Washington, D.C.
The university hopes to unveil the Medgar Evers monument next spring on the 50th anniversary of Evers’ death.
This is wonderful news for Alcorn State University and Mr. Dwight. As an Alcornite I applaud this decision as the 50th Anniversary of Mr. Evers death and my 50th Birthday in 2013.