1964

Three civil rights workers who participated in the Mississippi Summer Project were Mich Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman. Michael Schwerner was the most despised civil rights worker in Mississippi. The Ku Klux Klan nick named him “Jew boy.” While he was in Mississippi, he organized many boycotts and protests, and he helped push efforts to get blacks registered to vote. James Chaney was a black volunteer for CORE. His work comprised of traveling to rural laces where whites were afraid to go and to meet with blacks to encourage them to register to vote. Andrew Goodman also worked for CORE. Goodman’s passion for the Civil Rights Movement began when he was a child. In high school he participated in many marches promoting desegregation and an end to racism. He joined CORE after being inspired by a speech given by Allard Lownestein on the topic of bringing civil rights to Mississippi. After Attending a training session in Ohio for the Mississippi Summer Project in the middle of June, 1964, Michael Scwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman were driving back to Meridian, Mississippi where they worked for the project. On their drive back to Meridian, they drove through Neshoba County, a place well known for its stance against the Civil Rights Movement. While driving through Neshoba County, the three were pulled over by deputy Cecil Price who was also a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Deputy Price arrested all three of them for suspicion of arson. While Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman were in jail, price met with Klan members to set up a conspiracy to kill the three civil rights workers. They were released seven hours after they were detained. On their drive back, they were tailed by Price and other members of the Klan. After a high speed chase, the Klan members forced the car that the three civil rights workers were traveling in to pull off to the side of the road. Wayne Roberts, a Klan member, then shot and killed Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney in that order. The bodies were then taken to a dam site at the 253 ace old Jolly Farm. The farm was owned by Olen Burrage, another Klan member. The bodies were placed in a hollow at the dam site and then covered by tons of dirt. The next day, the Meridian office of the Mississippi Summer Project declared the three civil rights workers missing after they had not returned. This led to a search and then investigation headed by FBI agent John Proctor. The investigation was very difficult became members of the community would not talk to the FBI investigators because of either their involvement in the murders or their anti-civil rights sentiment. Many citizens of Mississippi were of the belief that by coming to Mississippi, the civil rights workers knew they were putting their lives on the line. Only after a $30,000 reward was offered was information given to the FBI concerning the location of the bodies of the three civil rights workers. On August 4th, 1964, John Proctor went to Old Jolly Farm and recovered the bodies of the three civil rights workers. After this, the FBI was able to crack the case through the Klan’s own members. James Jordan, after intense questioning, told the FBI the circumstances under which the three civil rights workers were murdered. Jordan was the key government witness in the murders. By December, 1964, the Justice Department had enough information to arrest nineteen men. “Six days later, a U.S. Commissioner dismissed the charges, declaring that the confession on which the arrest were based was hearsay evidence.” (Linder p4) On February 28, 1967, new indictments were issued for the murder of the three civil rights workers but with a different list of defendants. This time, eighteen Klansmen were indicted, and one of the great trials of the 20th century followed. The trial of United States Vs. Cecil Price, et al, began October 7, 1967 in the Meridian Courtroom of Judge William Cox. John Doar was the prosecutor in the case and Laurel Weir was the defense attorney. The jury was comprised of seven white men and five white women, which obviously put the prosecution at quite a disadvantage before trial began. The strength of the prosecution’s case against the eighteen Klansmen was the testimony of three other Klan members, Wallace Miller, Delmar Dennis, and James Jordan. They gave testimony on the June 21, 1964 conspiracy to murder Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman. They were also able to testify against Cyclops Frank Herndon and Kleagle Edgar Ray Killen. Delmar Dennis, through his testimony, was also able to incriminate the Imperial Wizard of the White Knights, Sam Bowers. Jordan was the only one who was a witness to the killings, so he was the one who testified about the meeting of the Klan members to plan the murder of the three civil rights workers, the actual killing of the three men, and the burial of the bodies at the farm. The defense case consisted entirely of alibi witnesses who testified that they saw a number of the charged men at different locations, such as funeral homes and hospitals. The defense tried putting the men at different spots at the time of the murder. The prosecution, however, had a much stronger care than the defense. The jury convicted seven of the defendants including Deputy Sherriff Cecil Price, Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers and the trigger man Wayne Roberts. Eight men were acquitted, including the owner of the Old Jolly Farm Olen Burrage and Cyclops Frank Herndon. As to the other three defendants, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. “The convictions in the case represented the first ever convictions in Mississippi for the killing of a civil rights worker” (Linder p6) Though it was the first such convictions in Mississippi, the impact was lessened by the punishment given to the seven convicted defendants.