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ATLANTA, Ga.–Days after the granddaughter of Civil Rights icons Medgar and Mylie Evers went missing, the Georgia NAACP called for nationwide attention on the case. On Friday morning, the organization announced she’d been found.
Nicole “Niki” Evers-Everette had been missing from her apartment in Duluth, Georgia since Sunday, Sept. 22. Meanwhile, her car was last seen on Keys Ferry Road and McCart Road in McDonough, Georgia Monday night, according to a press release from the state branch of the NAACP.
In a phone call Friday morning with the Black Wall Street Times, Georgia NAACP President Attorney Gerald Griggs said a search couldn’t start until after the weather from Hurricane Helene clears.
“We are organizing a mobilization for a woman-hunt. So, as soon as the weather breaks here in Georgia, we will send out members of the units in Gwinnett and Henry County, Gwinnett is where she lives. Henry County is the last place she was seen,” Attorney Griggs said.
An hour after the call, Georgia NAACP announced Medgar Evers’ granddaughter had gone from missing to found.
“We are pleased to inform you that Nicole Evers-Everette has been found. On behalf of the Georgia NAACP, we extend our sincere gratitude to everyone for their attention and support during this situation,” it wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
It wasn’t immediately clear what her condition was or why she’d been missing.
Missing Black women receive less attention; Medgar Evers’ granddaughter found Friday
Niki Evers-Everette’s last message was to her mother Reena at 5:55 EDT on Sunday, the day she went missing.
“I am worried and terrified for my daughter, Niki. She has not reported to work this week, which is highly unusual. We talk regularly, and it is also unusual for me to not be able to reach her. She does not have her cell phone, purse, or other personal effects,” Reena Evers-Everette said in a statement published Thursday.
“I am in constant prayer that she is safe and comes back to us soon. Timing is critical because Niki has a medical condition that requires medication, which she does not have,” Reena Evers-Everette stated.
Described as a kind, warm-hearted person with a radiant smile, Georgia NAACP President Griggs said the case of Medgar Evers’ missing granddaughter wasn’t receiving national news or attention.
Black Americans make up nearly 40% of missing persons cases, according to the Black and Missing Foundation. Meanwhile, Black women are less likely to receive media attention when they go missing than white women, according to a report published by the Journal of Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society.
“We know many times that missing Black women don’t get the attention necessary. It’s not a national story now. It needs to be. One, considering that she is a Black woman who is missing, but two: she is the granddaughter of one of the seminal figures in the NAACP and the Civil Rights Movement,” Attorney Griggs told the BWSTimes Friday.
Who was Medgar Evers?
Born in Decatur, Mississippi in 1925, Medgar Evers served in the U.S. Army before becoming the NAACP’s first field secretary in the state of Mississippi. He led efforts to desegrate the University of Mississippi following the 1954 Brown v. Board decision, which outlawed segregation in public schools.
He went on to fight for voting rights, economic opportunity and equal access to public accommodations before a member of the White Citizens’ Council murdered him at his Jackson home in 1963.
Meanwhile, his then-wife Mylie Evers, later Mylie Evers-Williams, led prominent roles in the NAACP helping to restore its financial footing. She later established the Medgars Evers Institute in Jackson in honor of her late husband.
As of late Friday morning, and five days after she went missing, the family of Medgar Evers was able to find his granddaughter.