The Mississippi Civil Rights Workers Murders involved the 1964 slayings of three political activists during the American Civil Rights Movement. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Martin Luther King is perhaps most famous for his I Have a Dream speech, given in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom This article is about the civil rights movement following the Brown v. ...

"Missing": Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner (FBI poster)

The murders of James Chaney, a 21-year-old black man from Meridian, Mississippi, Andrew Goodman, a 20-year-old Jewish anthropology student from New York, and Michael Schwerner, a 24-year-old Jewish social worker also from New York, helped symbolize the dangers of the civil rights movement as part of what became known as "Freedom Summer." Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... James Chaney James Earl Chaney (May 30, 1943 – June 21, 1964) was a civil rights worker who was murdered (along with Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman) by members of the Ku Klux Klan. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Meridian is a city located in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. ... Andrew Goodman Andrew Goodman (November 23, 1943 – June 21, 1964) was an American civil rights activist who was murdered by gunshot in 1964 By the Ku Klux Klan. ... Anthropology (from Greek: ἀνθρωπος, anthropos, human being; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the comparative study of the physical and social characteristics of humanity through the examination of historical and present geographical distribution, cultural history, acculturation, and cultural relationships. ... NY redirects here. ... Michael Schwerner Michael Schwerner (November 6, 1939 – June 21, 1964), called Mickey by friends and colleagues, was a CORE field worker killed in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by the Ku Klux Klan in response to the civil-rights work he coordinated, which included promoting registration to vote among Mississippi African Americans. ... Freedom Summer was a campaign in the United States launched during the summer of 1964 to attempt to register as many African American voters as possible in the State of Mississippi, which up to that time had almost totally excluded black voters. ...

The case

The murders of the three men occurred in Philadelphia, Mississippi, on June 21, 1964, just one day after the trio had arrived in Mississippi. The men had just finished a week-long training on the campus of Western College for Women (now part of Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio) regarding strategies on how to register blacks to vote. Philadelphia is a city located in Neshoba County, Mississippi. ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Miami University (colloquially and incorrectly referred to as Miami of Ohio) is a selective coeducational American public university founded in 1809 in the university town of Oxford, Ohio. ... Oxford is located in southwestern Ohio in northwestern Butler County in Oxford Township, originally called the College Township. ...

After getting a haircut from an African-American barber in Meridian, the three men headed to Longdale, 50 miles away in Neshoba County, in order to inspect the ruins of Mount Zion United Methodist Church. The church, a meeting place for civil rights groups, had been burned just five days earlier. Neshoba County is a county located in the state of Mississippi. ... This article is about the current denomination africa. ...

Before they left the area, they stopped by the local office of the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), an umbrella group of four civil rights organizations. Schwerner, aware that the station wagon's license number had been given to members of the notorious local Citizens Council, told COFO workers to contact the FBI if he hadn't called them by 4:30 p.m. The Council of Federated Organizations, or COFO, was formed in 1962. ... The White Citizens Council movement was a U.S. movement against racial desegregation. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), serving as both a federal criminal investigative body and a domestic intelligence agency. ...

At approximately 5:00, the blue Ford carrying the trio was stopped by Neshoba County deputy Cecil Price, who arrested Chaney for allegedly driving 35 miles per hour over the speed limit. He also booked Goodman and Schwerner, "for investigation." Cecil Ray Price (born about 1937 - died May 6, 2001) was linked to the murders of three civil rights workers in 1964. ...

Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney were all denied telephone calls during their time at the jail. COFO workers had made attempts to find the three, but when they called the Neshoba County jail, the secretary was instructed to lie and say that the three men were not there.

While awaiting their release, they were given a dinner of spoon bread, green peas, potatoes and salad. Chaney was then fined $20 and the three men were ordered to leave the county. Price followed them to the edge of town, heading toward Meridian on state Highway 19 at approximately 10:30 p.m.

Disappearance

Police found the charred remains of the station wagon, with three of its hubcaps removed. They noted that the site was in the opposite direction to that indicated by Price to investigators.

Some local officials were hardly sympathetic to the situation, with Neshoba County Sheriff Lawrence A. Rainey saying, "They're just hiding and trying to cause a lot of bad publicity for this part of the state". Mississippi governor Paul Johnson also dismissed concern by simply stating that "they could be in Cuba". Lawrence A. Rainey (1923-2002) was the elected Sheriff of Neshoba County, Mississippi from 1963 to 1968. ... Paul Burney Johnson, Jr. ...

For a while, the trail went cold. The break came when the FBI offered a $25,000 reward for news of the men's whereabouts. On 4th August (1964), acting on information received, the FBI found the bodies on Olen Burrage's Old Jolly Farm, six miles southwest of Philadelphia. The identity of the real informant - known as "Mr. X." was a closely held secret for 40 years. In the process of reopening the case, journalist Jerry Mitchell and teacher Barry Bradford uncovered his real name.^[1] Subsequent autopsies revealed that Goodman and Schwerner had been shot once in the heart with a .38-caliber bullet, while Chaney had been shot three times after being severely beaten. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ...

Trial

Eighteen male suspects were put on trial in 1967 for civil rights violations only, with just seven of the men being found guilty (see U.S. v. Cecil Price et. al.). Two of the defendants, E.G. Barnett, a Democratic candidate for sheriff, and Edgar Ray Killen, a local minister, had been strongly implicated in the murder according to witnesses, but a deadlocked jury set them free. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Arguably one of the most famous court cases in American history, United States v. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Aftermath

For much of the next four decades, the murders were ignored from a legal perspective, but a series of films dramatized the events. In 1974, a CBS made-for-television movie aired, Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan, co-starring Wayne Rogers and Ned Beatty. This was followed by 1988's Mississippi Burning (with Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman), and in 1990 by Murder in Mississippi (starring Tom Hulce, Blair Underwood and Josh Charles). In the first two movies, the sympathetic portrayal of FBI agents in the movie angered civil rights activists. 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Wayne M. Rogers (born in Birmingham, Alabama on 7 April 1933) is an American film and television actor, best known for playing the role of Trapper John McIntyre in the long-running U.S. television series, M*A*S*H. He succeeded Elliott Gould, who had played the character in... Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (born July 6, 1937) is an American character actor. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mississippi Burning is a 1988 film based on the investigation into the real-life murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. ... William Dafoe, Jr. ... Gene Hackman (born Eugene Allen Hackman[1] on January 30, 1930) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... Murder in Mississippi was a 1990 television movie which dramatised the last weeks of Civil Rights activist Michael Mickey Schwerner, and the events leading up to his disappearance (along with two other activists) and subsequent murder. ... Thomas Hulce (born December 6, 1953) is an Academy Award-nominated, Tony Award and Emmy Award-winning American actor. ... Blair Underwood (born August 25, 1964, in Tacoma, Washington) is an American television and film actor. ... Joshua Aaron Charles (born September 15, 1971) is an American stage, film and television actor. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ...

Journalist Jerry Mitchell, an award winning investigative reporter for the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, had written extensively about the case for many years. Mitchell, who had already earned fame for helping secure convictions in several other high profile Civil Rights Era murder cases, including the assassination of Medgar Evers, the Birmingham Church Bombing, and the murder of Vernon Dahmer, developed new evidence, found new witnesses, and pressured the State to take action. Barry Bradford, an Illinois high school teacher, later famous for helping clear the name of Civil Rights martyr Clyde Kennard, and three students, Allison Nichols, Sarah Siegel, and Brittany Saltiel, joined Mitchell's efforts. Their documentary, produced for the National History Day contest presented important new evidence and compelling reasons for reopening the case. They also obtained an interview with Edgar Ray Killen which helped convince the State to reinvestigate. Mitchell was able to determine the identity of "Mr. X" the mystery informer who had helped the FBI discover the bodies and smash the conspiracy of the Klan in 1964, in part using evidence developed by Bradford and the students.

Michell's investigation and the high school student's work in obtaining Congressional pressure, national media attention and a taped conversation with Killen prompted action..^[2]On the 40th anniversary of the murders, a multi-ethnic group of citizens in Philadelphia, Mississippi, issued a call for justice ^[3]. The Philadelphia Coalition issued the call for justice calling on authorities to do the right thing. Civil rights leaders and Mississippi Gov. Haley R. Barbour were in Philadelphia to endorse the call for justice ^[4].

On January 6, 2005, Killen was indicted by a Neshoba County grand jury on three counts of murder. On June 21, 2005, Killen was convicted on three counts of manslaughter ^[5]. January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 359 days (360 in leap years) remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A former Philadelphia mayor served as a character witness in the trial ^[6].

Popular Culture

• Drawing of the Three: The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. The three murders were the reason Odetta Holmes/Detta Walker (later Susannah Dean) was in the town of Oxford, Mississippi for a protest, where she was arrested and humiliated by the fictional white deputies. Mention of this experience occurs often throughout the series.

The Dark Tower painting by Michael Whelan The Dark Tower is a series of seven books by American writer Stephen King that tells the tale of lead character Roland Deschains quest for the Dark Tower. ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of over 200 stories including over 50 bestselling horror novels. ...

References

External links

• The Movement That Reopened The Case
• Mississippi Burning, by Kent Germany (LBJ tapes and documents)
• Federal Bureau of Intimidation by Howard Zinn
• James Earl Chaney Foundation
• New arrest in 1964 civil rights murders (CNN.com)
• Profile of Jerry Mitchell, the journalist whose work led to Killen's arrest (Mother Jones magazine)
• Wonderful Weeklies American Journalism Review examines the role of The Neshoba Democrat in the Killen trial