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| Scherwner, Chaney, and Goodman murdered by the Klan 50 years ago today Philadelphia, Mississippi |
Today, June 21, marks the 50th anniversary of the murders of three civil rights workers near Philadelphia, Mississippi. James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were working for things as pure as voter registration. On that night they were pulled over for speeding, beaten and shot, and their bodied were not found for weeks. The movie "Mississippi Burning is based upon this history. Justice was never served. The lines between so-called "law enforcement" and the KKK were incredibly blurred. One Klansman was convicted on minor charged but it took until 2005 - THAT'S NOT EVEN 10 YEARS AGO - for a Klansman to be convicted and then of only manslaughter. Dozens got away with murder to this day.
And yet the Roberts' Court says we don't need crucial portions of the Voting Rights Act and Voter Suppression Laws sprout and grow like weeds all over the red states, Southern or not.
We cannot forget Cheney, Goodman, and Schwerner.
Schwerner and his wife Rita in their little VW Beetle coming down from NY to begin what was to be a lifetime of service. Goodman, a Queens College classmate of Paul Simon. And Chaney, black and born in Mississippi with the courage to join the Congress of Racial Equality when he was only 20. Rest in peace and never let us forget.
I'm just left sad and ashamed and afraid that history will repeat.
I also am sad. But, I keep on keeping on and working to educate, or at least make the people I meet, think, a bit differently.
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