It was 40 years ago today--Part 2

[NightTrain]

August 4, 1964: The bodies of three murdered civil rights workers were found buried in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Between that and the Gulf of Tonkin hoax, I'd say that 8/04/64 was NOT a good day for America! :(

[bobbieinok]

1. LBJ was furious abt their death...he pushed the 64 Civil Rights Act

after years as senate majority whip, he was able to twist enuff arms to get the act passed

[bobbieinok]

2. 2 friends from grad school had gone to MS in the summer of

64...I always heard this referred to as 'Mississippi Summer' (65 was 'Vietnam Summer')

the other name is 'Freedom Summer'

[bobbieinok]

3. Cheney (black from MS),Goodman, and Schwerner

[NightTrain]

4. Thank you! I couldn't remember their names.

:hi:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. A very bad day.

I remember it well. I was in the marines at the time. I remember the angry looks of the black marines, and the smirks of some of the southern whites. And, all of us thinking it was just a matter of time 'til we got sent to kill people. I got out just before they started extending enlistments.

[harrison]

6. I knew the wife of a guy who worked with James Chaney. He dug

ditches with Chaney. He was serving a church and working construction (I think) to put himself through school. One of the jobs put he and Chaney together and they were down in the Mississippi clay digging ditches. When Chaney was murdered, this young minister felt compelled to preach to his little country Methodist congregation about civil rights. The Klan got wind of it and did a little cross burning. However, he wouldn't relent and kept right on preaching.

Later the Bishop of Mississippi came to see him because the congregation wanted him moved. The Bishop told him that he needed to tone it down. The young preacher told the Bishop that he could go to hell. He told the Bishop that you see things differently when you stand shoulder to shoulder with a man while you are digging ditches.

Anyway, when he was about to preach his last sermon at the little church, he started getting sick and losing his voice. So he went out and borrowed a tape recorder and recorded his sermon. On the last Sunday, he couldn' speak, but turned on an old reel to reel and preached one last prophetic sermon.

Later the young minister moved to Illinois to go to seminary. Midway through seminary he had a car wreck and was killed.

One of the countless and unknown acts of courage that occurred during the civil rights movement.

[bobbieinok]

7. kick for the evening........history IS important