Learn More about Reena: Jerry Mitchell, The Clarion-Ledger

 The daughter of Civil Rights activists, Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers-Williams. Evers-Everette graduated from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in Business Merchandising Medgar Evers Institute, a national organization founded by Myrlie Evers-Williams to fulfill the vision of Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers through education and civic engagement programs. Ms. Evers-Everette's civic and volunteer involvements include former chairman of the board of directors of the Claremont Chapter of the American Red Cross, and the City of Claremont's Committees on Dialogue and Human Relations. 

In 2012, Reena became executive director of the Jackson-based Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, which pushes for positive social change, exchanges across generational lines, and social and economic justice.

She had worked for three decades in communications for domestic and international businesses, and now she was ready for the new challenge of continuing the work her father and mother had begun.

In her own life, she had seen tragedy. In 1995, her mother's second husband, Walter Williams, whom Reena adored, died of cancer. Six years later her brother Darrell died, also of cancer, and her marriage ended as well, but not before she had three beautiful children who continued to amaze her.

She never wanted to return to Mississippi, yet after moving to Jackson, she found herself saying in a speech, "I'm home. This is where I need to be."

The words stunned her. "I always said I would never come back here to live because of the pain," she said.

She now believes she belongs here. "My father had a calling," she said. "So do I."

She visited her childhood home recently, and placed her hand against the sea foam green house. "Every time I come, I feel him. Today it's embracing his strength. I just wonder how in the world he did what he did — and Mom, too."

She remembers a story about God's people wandering in the desert for 40 years, and God carrying them "as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."

That reminds her of her father, carrying her on his shoulders. "He was a wonderful protector."

What she learned on Guynes Street has guided her life. "God keeps me going," she said. "And Daddy supports me."