LORMAN — Fifty years after he was killed for trying to make the world a better place, Alcorn State University’s national alumni association is seeking to honor one of their own.

The association is raising money to build a statue of Medgar Evers, who was murdered by a white supremacist July 12, 1963, in Jackson, after getting out of his car carrying T-shirts with “Jim Crow Must Go” written on them. Evers was Mississippi’s first NAACP field secretary, and was a 1952 graduate of ASU.

“We are doing this because we thought it was long overdue that some type of recognition of him would be there on campus,” statue committee chairman John Jones said.

“The alumni association felt there should be some type of recognition for him based on what he stood for, the challenges and the sacrifices he made, and the things that he went through knowing that danger was on him 24 hours a day, and he still had the courage and conviction to step out and influence change.”

The goal of the association is to have the statue completed in January and installed sometime in February, a few months ahead of the 50th anniversary of Evers death, Jones said.

To do that, the association is asking local churches to make their congregations aware of the effort this Sunday, which it has dubbed “Freedom Sunday.”

The goal is to raise $250,000, of which $150,000 has already been collected, Jones said.

Individuals and businesses who want to make a donation, which is tax deductible, are encouraged to do so, Jones said.

Donations can be made online via PayPal at www.alcorn.edu.

Donations by check should be made to the Alcorn State University Foundation with “Medgar Evers Statue Campaign” in the memo line, and can be sent to the Alcorn State University Foundation, 1000 ASU Drive No. 810, Alcorn State, MS 39096.