Civil rights icon endorses Kamala Harris "who follows in our footsteps"

Myrlie Evers, one of the last living icons of the Civil Rights era, announced on "CBS Mornings" that she's endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president because she says "the fight for justice is far from over."

In a short statement that aired Thursday – two days after Harris met former President Donald Trump face-to-face for the first time for ABC News' presidential debate – Evers explained why she decided to speak out in the 2024 presidential election.

"We need leaders who are willing to continue that fight [for justice]. Leaders who understand that justice is not just a promise but a right – enshrined in our constitution," Evers said.

Evers has vowed to continue her late husband Medgar Evers' fight for racial equality since his murder in June 1963. Medgar Evers, the Mississippi field secretary for the NAACP, was gunned down outside of his home after returning from a meeting. He died at age 37.

"My late husband Medgar Evers believed in the power of change. He knew we must never lose hope. Even in the darkest times. He often said, 'You can kill a man but you can't kill an idea.' That idea. The American idea of justice has carried us through our hardest days," Evers told "CBS Mornings."

She said she's proud to lend her voice to Harris' campaign for president, adding that the vice president, who has had a long career of public service – serving as a district attorney, state attorney general, senator and vice president – will be remembered as a changemaker.

"Kamala Harris who follows in our footsteps. Shirley Chisholm. Barbra Jordan. Maxine Waters. And my own. Those of us who have committed ourselves to supporting out communities as they thrive and grow," she said. "This election is about the future of our nation. It's about ensuring that the sacrifices of those who came before us, like my husband, were not in vain. It's about making sure that the progress we've made is protected. We are not going back."

In Tuesday's debate, Harris addressed Trump's false comments about her racial identity during a recent interview with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago, claiming that she "happened to turn Black" a few years ago.

"I think it's a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president who has consistently over the course of his career attempted to use race to divide the American people. You know, I do believe that the vast majority of us know that we have so much more in common than what separates us. And we don't want this kind of approach that is just constantly trying to divide us, and especially by race," Harris said on Tuesday.

"You make a big deal about something, I couldn't care less," replied Trump when asked about the insensitive comment during the debate. "Whatever she wants to be is OK with me."

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