1964 : CIVIL RIGHTS WORKERS DISAPPEAR:
In Neshoba County in central Mississippi, three civil rights field
workers disappear after investigating the burning of an African
American church by the Ku Klux Klan. Michael Schwerner and Andrew
Goodman, both white New Yorkers, had traveled to heavily segregated
Mississippi in 1964 to help organize civil rights efforts on behalf of
the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). The third man, James Chaney,
was a local African American man who had joined CORE in 1963. The
disappearance of the three young men garnered national attention and
led to a massive FBI investigation that was code-named MIBURN, for
"Mississippi Burning."
Michael Schwerner, who arrived in Mississippi as a CORE field worker
in January 1964, aroused the animosity of white supremacists after he
organized a successful black boycott of a variety store in the city of
Meridian and led voting registration efforts for African Americans. In
May, Sam Bowers, the Imperial Wizard of the White Knights of the Ku
Klux Klan of Mississippi, sent word that the 24-year-old Schwerner,
nicknamed "Goatee" and "Jew-Boy" by the KKK, was to be eliminated. On
the evening of June 16, two dozen armed Klansmen descended on Mt. Zion
Methodist Church, an African-American church in Neshoba County that
Schwerner had arranged to use as a "Freedom School." Schwerner was not
there at the time, but the Klansmen beat several African Americans
present and then torched the church.
On June 20, Schwerner returned from a civil-rights training session in
Ohio with 21-year-old James Chaney and 20-year-old Andrew Goodman, a
new recruit to CORE. The next day--June 21--the three went to
investigate the burning of the church in Neshoba. While attempting to
drive back to Meridian, they were stopped by Neshoba County Deputy
Sheriff Cecil Price just inside the city limits of Philadelphia, the
county seat. Price, a member of the KKK who had been looking out for
Schwerner or other civil rights workers, threw them in the Neshoba
County jail, allegedly under suspicion for church arson.
After seven hours in jail, during which the men were not allowed to
make a phone call, Price released them on bail. After escorting them
out of town, the deputy returned to Philadelphia to drop off an
accompanying Philadelphia police officer. As soon as he was alone, he
raced down the highway in pursuit of the three civil rights workers.
He caught the men just inside county limits and loaded them into his
car. Two other cars pulled up filled with Klansmen who had been
alerted by Price of the capture of the CORE workers, and the three
cars drove down an unmarked dirt road called Rock Cut Road. Schwerner,
Goodman, and Chaney were shot to death and their bodies buried in an
earthen dam a few miles from the Mt. Zion Church.
The next day, the FBI began an investigation into the disappearance of
the civil rights workers. On June 23, the case drew national
headlines, and federal agents found the workers' burned station wagon.
Under pressure from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the FBI
escalated the investigation, which eventually involved more than 200
FBI agents and scores of federal troops who combed the woods and
swamps looking for the bodies. The incident provided the final impetus
needed for the 1964 Civil Rights Act to pass Congress on July 2, and
eight days later FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover came to Mississippi to
open a new Bureau office. Eventually, Delmar Dennis, a Klansman and
one of the participants in the murders, was paid $30,000 and offered
immunity from prosecution in exchange for information. On August 4,
the remains of the three young men were found. The culprits were
identified, but the state of Mississippi made no arrests.
Finally, on December 4, nineteen men, including Deputy Price, were
indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for violating the civil rights
of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney (charging the suspects with civil
rights violations was the only way to give the federal government
jurisdiction in the case). After nearly three years of legal
wrangling, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately defended the
indictments, the men went on trial in Jackson, Mississippi. The trial
was presided over by an ardent segregationist, U.S. District Judge
William Cox, but under pressure from federal authorities and fearing
impeachment, he took the case seriously. On October 27, 1967, an
all-white jury found seven of the men guilty, including Price and KKK
Imperial Wizard Bowers. Nine were acquitted and the jury deadlocked on
three others. The mixed verdict was hailed as a major civil rights
victory, as no one in Mississippi had ever before been convicted for
actions taken against a civil rights worker.
In December, Judge Cox sentenced the men to prison terms ranging from
three to 10 years. After sentencing, he said, "They killed one nigger,
one Jew, and a white man. I gave them what I thought they deserved."
None of the convicted men served more than six years behind bars.
On the forty-first anniversary of the three murders, Edgar Ray Killen,
was found guilty of three counts of manslaughter on June 21, 2005.
Eighty-year-old Killen, known as an outspoken white supremacist and
part-time Baptist minister, was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
history.com/tdih.do
1788 : U.S. Constitution ratified
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5111
1813 : French defeated in Spain
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5112
1916 : Pershing attacked by Mexican troops
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5113
1982 : Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5114
#########################################
In Neshoba County in central Mississippi, three civil rights field
workers disappear after investigating the burning of an African
American church by the Ku Klux Klan. Michael Schwerner and Andrew
Goodman, both white New Yorkers, had traveled to heavily segregated
Mississippi in 1964 to help organize civil rights efforts on behalf of
the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). The third man, James Chaney,
was a local African American man who had joined CORE in 1963. The
disappearance of the three young men garnered national attention and
led to a massive FBI investigation that was code-named MIBURN, for
"Mississippi Burning."
Michael Schwerner, who arrived in Mississippi as a CORE field worker
in January 1964, aroused the animosity of white supremacists after he
organized a successful black boycott of a variety store in the city of
Meridian and led voting registration efforts for African Americans. In
May, Sam Bowers, the Imperial Wizard of the White Knights of the Ku
Klux Klan of Mississippi, sent word that the 24-year-old Schwerner,
nicknamed "Goatee" and "Jew-Boy" by the KKK, was to be eliminated. On
the evening of June 16, two dozen armed Klansmen descended on Mt. Zion
Methodist Church, an African-American church in Neshoba County that
Schwerner had arranged to use as a "Freedom School." Schwerner was not
there at the time, but the Klansmen beat several African Americans
present and then torched the church.
On June 20, Schwerner returned from a civil-rights training session in
Ohio with 21-year-old James Chaney and 20-year-old Andrew Goodman, a
new recruit to CORE. The next day--June 21--the three went to
investigate the burning of the church in Neshoba. While attempting to
drive back to Meridian, they were stopped by Neshoba County Deputy
Sheriff Cecil Price just inside the city limits of Philadelphia, the
county seat. Price, a member of the KKK who had been looking out for
Schwerner or other civil rights workers, threw them in the Neshoba
County jail, allegedly under suspicion for church arson.
After seven hours in jail, during which the men were not allowed to
make a phone call, Price released them on bail. After escorting them
out of town, the deputy returned to Philadelphia to drop off an
accompanying Philadelphia police officer. As soon as he was alone, he
raced down the highway in pursuit of the three civil rights workers.
He caught the men just inside county limits and loaded them into his
car. Two other cars pulled up filled with Klansmen who had been
alerted by Price of the capture of the CORE workers, and the three
cars drove down an unmarked dirt road called Rock Cut Road. Schwerner,
Goodman, and Chaney were shot to death and their bodies buried in an
earthen dam a few miles from the Mt. Zion Church.
The next day, the FBI began an investigation into the disappearance of
the civil rights workers. On June 23, the case drew national
headlines, and federal agents found the workers' burned station wagon.
Under pressure from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the FBI
escalated the investigation, which eventually involved more than 200
FBI agents and scores of federal troops who combed the woods and
swamps looking for the bodies. The incident provided the final impetus
needed for the 1964 Civil Rights Act to pass Congress on July 2, and
eight days later FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover came to Mississippi to
open a new Bureau office. Eventually, Delmar Dennis, a Klansman and
one of the participants in the murders, was paid $30,000 and offered
immunity from prosecution in exchange for information. On August 4,
the remains of the three young men were found. The culprits were
identified, but the state of Mississippi made no arrests.
Finally, on December 4, nineteen men, including Deputy Price, were
indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for violating the civil rights
of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney (charging the suspects with civil
rights violations was the only way to give the federal government
jurisdiction in the case). After nearly three years of legal
wrangling, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately defended the
indictments, the men went on trial in Jackson, Mississippi. The trial
was presided over by an ardent segregationist, U.S. District Judge
William Cox, but under pressure from federal authorities and fearing
impeachment, he took the case seriously. On October 27, 1967, an
all-white jury found seven of the men guilty, including Price and KKK
Imperial Wizard Bowers. Nine were acquitted and the jury deadlocked on
three others. The mixed verdict was hailed as a major civil rights
victory, as no one in Mississippi had ever before been convicted for
actions taken against a civil rights worker.
In December, Judge Cox sentenced the men to prison terms ranging from
three to 10 years. After sentencing, he said, "They killed one nigger,
one Jew, and a white man. I gave them what I thought they deserved."
None of the convicted men served more than six years behind bars.
On the forty-first anniversary of the three murders, Edgar Ray Killen,
was found guilty of three counts of manslaughter on June 21, 2005.
Eighty-year-old Killen, known as an outspoken white supremacist and
part-time Baptist minister, was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
history.com/tdih.do
1788 : U.S. Constitution ratified
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5111
1813 : French defeated in Spain
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5112
1916 : Pershing attacked by Mexican troops
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5113
1982 : Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5114
#########################################
No comments:
Post a Comment