James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner(top to bottom)
On the night of June 21-22 in 1964 three American civil rights workers, James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner were shot at close range and killed. The workers had been working on the “Freedom Summer” campaign, attempting to register African-Americans to vote. On today’s date August 4th, their bodies were found in an earthen dam near the murder site.
While I was only 13 when it happened, and that summer I was more interested in the Phillies pennant race collapse, I do remember the national outrage over the shootings and the FBI being sent in to investigate. The FBI investigation was known as Mississippi Burning (MIBURN)
After the state of Mississippi refused to prosecute any of those who were believed to have committed the crime, the Federal government stepped in and charged 18 individuals, however, only seven convictions were secured, and those convicted received only minor sentences. From Wikipedia:
Although federal authorities believed there were many others who took part in the Neshoba County lynching, only ten men were charged with the actual murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner.[6] One of these men included the county’s deputy sheriff, who played a crucial role in implementing the conspiracy. Before his friend Lawrence A. Rainey was elected sheriff in 1963, Cecil R. Price worked as a salesman, bouncer, and fireman.[6] Price had no prior experience in local law enforcement. The 26-year-old Price was the only person who witnessed the entire event. He arrested the three men, released them the night of the murders, and chased them down state highway 19 toward Meridian, eventually re-capturing them at the intersection near House, Mississippi. Price and the other nine men would escort them north along highway 19 to Rock Cut Road where the three civil rights workers would be murdered. All hopes for a “tell all” confession faded when Price, in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi, fell to his death during a machinery accident in 2001 Read More
In the book Subversives, Seth Rosenfeld, writes about the time that Mario Savio, one of the student leaders in the demonstrations at Berkeley spent in Mississippi that summer helping voters . It wasn’t an easy job and I certainly admire the courage of all those who worked that “Freedom Summer” While the murderers may have only received minor sentences, their actions and the national outrage over their deaths went a long way in helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965! Phil Ochs’ message to the State of Mississippi……
Here’s to the state of Mississippi,
For Underheath her borders, the devil draws no lines,
If you drag her muddy river, nameless bodies you will find.
Whoa the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes,
The calender is lyin’ when it reads the present time.
Whoa here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of,
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of!
Here’s to the people of Mississippi
Who say the folks up north, they just don’t understand
And they tremble in their shadows at the thunder of the Klan
The sweating of their souls can’t wash the blood from off their hands
They smile and shrug their shoulders at the murder of a man
Oh, here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
Here’s to the schools of Mississippi
Where they’re teaching all the children that they don’t have to care
All of rudiments of hatred are present everywhere
And every single classroom is a factory of despair
There’s nobody learning such a foreign word as fair
Oh, here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
Here’s to the cops of Mississippi
They’re chewing their tobacco as they lock the prison door
Their bellies bounce inside them as they knock you to the floor
No they don’t like taking prisoners in their private little war
Behind their broken badges there are murderers and more
Oh, here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
And, here’s to the judges of Mississippi
Who wear the robe of honor as they crawl into the court
They’re guarding all the bastions with their phony legal fort
Oh, justice is a stranger when the prisoners report
When the black man stands accused the trial is always short
Oh, here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
And here’s to the government of Mississippi
In the swamp of their bureaucracy they’re always bogging down
And criminals are posing as the mayors of the towns
They’re hoping that no one sees the sights and hears the sounds
And the speeches of the governor are the ravings of a clown
Oh, here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
And here’s to the laws of Mississippi
Congressmen will gather in a circus of delay
While the Constitution is drowning in an ocean of decay
Unwed mothers should be sterilized, I’ve even heard them say
Yes, corruption can be classic in the Mississippi way
Oh, here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
And here’s to the churches of Mississippi
Where the cross, once made of silver, now is caked with rust
And the Sunday morning sermons pander to their lust
The fallen face of Jesus is choking in the dust
Heaven only knows in which God they can trust
Oh, here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of