[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 96 (Friday, July 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1497-E1498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF A RESOLUTION TO COMMEND THE PHILADELPHIA COALITION FOR 
           ITS APPROACH TO ERADICATING RACISM AND INTOLERANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 14, 2005

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a 
concurrent resolution to commend the Philadelphia Coalition for its 
principled, open, and integrated approach to eradicating racism and 
intolerance, and for its determination to confront the past and work 
toward the future.
  On June 21, 1964, three brave, upright, and honorable men--James 
Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner--all members of a 
coalition of civil rights organizations known as the Council of 
Federated Organizations, drove to Neshoba County, Mississippi to 
investigate the racially motivated June 16, 1964 burning of Mount Zion 
Baptist Church in Longdale, Mississippi and the assault on its members. 
After meeting with members of the Mount Zion congregation, the three 
civil rights workers were pulled over by a sheriff's deputy in 
Philadelphia, Mississippi. They were detained on suspicion of burning 
the same Mount Zion church--a church that, according to later 
testimony, was burned by Ku Klux Klansmen specifically to lure Mr. 
Chaney and Mr. Schwerner to Neshoba County. This false charge was 
clearly fabricated and represented a deliberate attempt to intimidate 
the young advocates. Unfortunately, it was only the beginning.
  What transpired next would change the county, State, and Nation 
itself. At 10:30 p.m. that night, the men were released and ordered to 
leave town. However, on the road back to Meridian, Mississippi, Mr. 
Chaney, Mr. Goodman, and Mr. Schwerner were tailed and subsequently 
overtaken by a mob of white men. The throng, comprised of law 
enforcement officials and Ku Klux Klansmen, pulled the three men from 
their car, drove them to an empty gravel road, and brutally murdered 
them.
  This unconscionable, unprovoked, and vicious attack was coordinated 
by Edgar Ray Killen, an active member of the Ku Klux Klan. Yet Mr. 
Killen was not initially brought to justice. He was tried in 1967 for 
the murders he coordinated, but was not found guilty because one jury 
member refused to convict a preacher. The truth is, however, that an 
all-white jury was never going to convict a white man of a racial crime 
in Philadelphia in 1964, particularly one involving the Ku Klux Klan. 
The Klan was revered, and even during the 2005 trial, former 
Philadelphia mayor Harlan Majure stated that the Ku Klux Klan was a 
``peaceful organization'' that did much good for Mississippi.

  For 41 years, after orchestrating the murder of these three men, Mr. 
Killen walked the streets of Mississippi, free from prosecution and 
legal repercussions. For 41 years, the families of James Chaney, Andrew 
Goodman, and Michael Schwemer lived in an America that had not afforded 
them justice. For 41 years, these murders served as a poignant reminder 
that without action, racism and prejudice will persist, even in this 
great country.
  In March 2005, however, all that began to change, as a task force of 
city, county, and tribal leaders joined together to form the 
Philadelphia Coalition. The Coalition was charged with commemorating 
the lives of the three slain young men. But the Philadelphia Coalition 
did not merely coordinate a public commemoration, they took a stand for 
justice, integration, and equality. Demonstrating that it is never too 
late for justice to be served, the Coalition successfully lobbied for 
Mr. Killen to be re-tried for the murders he orchestrated. On June 21, 
2005, 41 years to the day after his heinous crime and as a direct 
result of the efforts of the Philadelphia Coalition, Edgar Ray Killen 
was convicted on three counts of manslaughter.
  The real success of the Philadelphia Coalition, however, was not the 
legal battle. Their true achievement was to strike at the heart of the 
bigotry and intolerance that Mr. Killen and the Ku Klux Klan represent. 
Mr. Speaker, the Philadelphia Coalition, significantly, is a multi-
racial task force. The Coalition actively integrated black, white, and 
Choctaw Indian men and women into its ranks. This organizational model 
of ethnic understanding and racial tolerance, more so than their legal 
triumph, can and must serve as a model and example for individuals and 
organizations not only in Mississippi, but throughout the United 
States. It is imperative that today we learn from their example and 
that we commend their actions.

[[Page E1498]]

  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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