The Mississippi Burning
By Nicole H.
The Mississippi Summer Project was organized in 1964 by the Council of Federated Organizations. This organization consisted of four civil rights groups and the National Conference of Churches. The purpose of this project was for northern college student volunteers to go to Mississippi for the summer in order to work in "freedom school" and teach blacks in the state about their constitutional rights. The students were also helping to raise awareness of racial discrimination in Mississippi by including white civil rights workers. Three workers in this organization that sacrificed their lives were Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman.
MEET THE HEROES
Michael Schwerner was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and helped to get rid of racial discrimination in the North. Him and his wife arrived in Meridian, Mississippi to work at the community center for CORE. They built a spectacular library for the blacks. Schwerner was mostly involved in voting registration, but he also wanted to desegregate churches, stores, and other businesses. His work gained him some enemies, including the Ku Klux Klan. Schwerner, however, did not seem to notice the potential danger in his work.
Andrew Goodman was raised in an opinionated family. His background was the basis for his idealism and belief in individual liberties, so it is not a surprise he joined the summer project as well. Goodman first met Schwerner at the training session for the program. At the last minute, his new friend, Schwerner, convinced Goodman to stay with him in Meridian.
James Chaney was a young black man who was raised in Meridian. Chaney became expelled in high school and came to find CORE while he was wandering after his expulsion. Chaney was one of the first people Schwerner met and was extremely helpful in helping him get settled and in registration activities. Eventually, the Schwerners made Chaney an official paid member of the CORE staff.
On June 21, the three men left Meridian to go to a church that had been burned down five days earlier by a gang of white men. It was purposefully burned because it was a meeting place for a variety of civil rights groups. The three planned to be back home in Meridian before nighttime. Before the men left, they checked in with CORE, making sure if they were not back by 4:30 PM, the FBI and highway patrol would be aware and would check the local jails in order to find out where they were located. Sadly, these extreme precautions were imperative due to the violence and harm being targeted towards the civil rights workers in Mississippi.
The three arrived at the church without any problems. After discussing the incident with any witnesses or victims, they headed back home to Meridian. Driving home, they were pulled over by a deputy sheriff of Neshoba County. His excuse to pull them over was because they were going 65 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. They were then thrown into the county jail. Chaney, the driver, was in jail for speeding and the other two were in jail for investigation. The men were fed dinner and eventually released after paying a fine. The deputy, Cecil Price admitted later that he had followed their car to the county line and became aware that they were on their way to Meridian. Strangely, the group of three never arrived back home in Meridian. After becoming aware of their disappearance, a search party was sent out for forty-four days.
On the search, the car Chaney had been driving was found in a blackberry thicket next to an old road. The FBI was now told to complete a search. The FBI offered up a reward of $30,000 for anyone who had information on the location of the three men. Using the answers they obtained, they discovered the three men's bodies at the base of a small dam. They had all been shot. After further investigation, two Ku Klux Klansmen came forward and were charged with a $10,000 find and up to ten years in prison.
Later, the nineteen guilty conspirators were arrested. Deputy Price was also arrested because he was found to be involved in the murders. However, a federal judge in Mississippi dismissed the charges of the murder. Some were outraged and a trial began on October 7, 1967.
In the trial, James Jordan testified that he had joined the party who killed the three men. He stated that after the men's release from jail, Deputy Price followed them, pulled them over again, and ordered them into the back of his police car. Local Klansmen proceeded to join Deputy Price where they drove to a deserted area and shot them men one at a time. The jury than began their deliberations, taking two days to come to a conclusion. The jury presented a conviction against seven of the defendants, including Deputy Price. Not being able to come up with a verdict for the other three, they freed them. None of the defendants, however, in the case has ever been charged for the murders of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney.
MEET THE HEROES
Michael Schwerner was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and helped to get rid of racial discrimination in the North. Him and his wife arrived in Meridian, Mississippi to work at the community center for CORE. They built a spectacular library for the blacks. Schwerner was mostly involved in voting registration, but he also wanted to desegregate churches, stores, and other businesses. His work gained him some enemies, including the Ku Klux Klan. Schwerner, however, did not seem to notice the potential danger in his work.
Andrew Goodman was raised in an opinionated family. His background was the basis for his idealism and belief in individual liberties, so it is not a surprise he joined the summer project as well. Goodman first met Schwerner at the training session for the program. At the last minute, his new friend, Schwerner, convinced Goodman to stay with him in Meridian.
James Chaney was a young black man who was raised in Meridian. Chaney became expelled in high school and came to find CORE while he was wandering after his expulsion. Chaney was one of the first people Schwerner met and was extremely helpful in helping him get settled and in registration activities. Eventually, the Schwerners made Chaney an official paid member of the CORE staff.
On June 21, the three men left Meridian to go to a church that had been burned down five days earlier by a gang of white men. It was purposefully burned because it was a meeting place for a variety of civil rights groups. The three planned to be back home in Meridian before nighttime. Before the men left, they checked in with CORE, making sure if they were not back by 4:30 PM, the FBI and highway patrol would be aware and would check the local jails in order to find out where they were located. Sadly, these extreme precautions were imperative due to the violence and harm being targeted towards the civil rights workers in Mississippi.
The three arrived at the church without any problems. After discussing the incident with any witnesses or victims, they headed back home to Meridian. Driving home, they were pulled over by a deputy sheriff of Neshoba County. His excuse to pull them over was because they were going 65 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. They were then thrown into the county jail. Chaney, the driver, was in jail for speeding and the other two were in jail for investigation. The men were fed dinner and eventually released after paying a fine. The deputy, Cecil Price admitted later that he had followed their car to the county line and became aware that they were on their way to Meridian. Strangely, the group of three never arrived back home in Meridian. After becoming aware of their disappearance, a search party was sent out for forty-four days.
On the search, the car Chaney had been driving was found in a blackberry thicket next to an old road. The FBI was now told to complete a search. The FBI offered up a reward of $30,000 for anyone who had information on the location of the three men. Using the answers they obtained, they discovered the three men's bodies at the base of a small dam. They had all been shot. After further investigation, two Ku Klux Klansmen came forward and were charged with a $10,000 find and up to ten years in prison.
Later, the nineteen guilty conspirators were arrested. Deputy Price was also arrested because he was found to be involved in the murders. However, a federal judge in Mississippi dismissed the charges of the murder. Some were outraged and a trial began on October 7, 1967.
In the trial, James Jordan testified that he had joined the party who killed the three men. He stated that after the men's release from jail, Deputy Price followed them, pulled them over again, and ordered them into the back of his police car. Local Klansmen proceeded to join Deputy Price where they drove to a deserted area and shot them men one at a time. The jury than began their deliberations, taking two days to come to a conclusion. The jury presented a conviction against seven of the defendants, including Deputy Price. Not being able to come up with a verdict for the other three, they freed them. None of the defendants, however, in the case has ever been charged for the murders of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney.