The Mississippi murder of three civil rights activists



''' Two white men and one black man were killed, and the case got top priority at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, mainly because there were two dead white people was involved. How would the case have been if all the three activists were black men? '''

 The year is 1964 in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Mississippi was back then known for many white politicians’ actions and view on black people. Mississippi got a reputation for being a reactionary state where the KKK’s (Ku Klux Klan) ruled and made the agenda, and the state with most racism and hate crimes.

 The night of 21 June was the last time the three civil rights activists were seen alive. The three activists are Michael Schwerner aged 24, Andrew Goodman aged 20, and both Americans’ from New York, the last person is James Chaney aged 22 and from Meridian, Mississippi. They were all members of the Congress of Racial Equality also known as CORE. CORE is a dedicated non-violent direct action against race discrimination

 Right away the case got top priority and was given the name Miburn which is a composition of Mississippi and burning. Two days after the civil rights disappearance the men’s car was found burned-out. Later the dead bodies were found and transported to Jackson, Mississippi for further examination. Evidence told that they were shot but who to blame? All fingers pointed at the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan.

 But what where the three men doing in Mississippi, before they got killed? They were there to investigate the destruction of a black congregation church. The church got used as a “freedom school”. The president of the freedom school was Mr. Schwerner. The freedom school was teaching black kids, and that outraged some people. It especially outraged the KKK, so much they burned down the church is the search for Mr. Schwerner. His wife Rita made a statement to the newspaper:

"My husband, Michael Schwerner, did not die in vain. If he and Andrew Goodman had been negroes, the world would have taken little notice of their deaths. 

''"After all, the slaying of a negro in Mississippi is not news. It is only because my husband and Andrew Goodman were white that the national alarm had been sounded." ''

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 Despite all the evidence that was gained during the investigation, the state of Mississippi refused to press any charges of the murder crime for the people who committed the crime. In 1967, three years later the federal government pressed charges against 18 people who had to do with the killing of the three men. Nine of them, including Samuel Bowers, the man who ordered Michael Schwerner killed, got caught guilty for the charges. The rest of the suspects’ charges got dropped.

                       'Conclusion 



 From what I’ve read and learned my English class about Mississippi, and in general peoples view on black back then have a major impact. If for an example it was three black men who died instead of one, it would never have been such a big deal. The reason for that is that 50 years ago, black people was lowest in the society ranking, and black people was seen more as a tool and miserable. I think the case would have been just like Rita Schwerner commented: “'' My husband, Michael Schwerner, did not die in vain. If he and Andrew Goodman had been negroes, the world would have taken little notice of their deaths.” ''

<p class="MsoFootnoteText"> http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/4/newsid_2962000/2962638.stm <p class="MsoFootnoteText"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDqf0B2_j1A