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Students, teacher 'carry burden' for slain civil rights workers

Mar. 9, 2005	 News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*
Nashville {05143}

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert*

In 1964, three young civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi.

In 2005, three young women and a history teacher in Illinois have become
part of a movement that may finally see justice in the 40 year-old
cases.

Sarah Siegel, Allison Nichols and Brittany Saltiel, 16-year-old
sophomores at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill., took
on the famous "Mississippi Burning" case as a history project. Their
teacher, Barry Bradford, has been at their sides as they have
interviewed family members of the slain workers-Michael Schwerner, James
Chaney and Andrew Goodman. Bradford conducted a rare interview with the
man who will stand trial for their murders on April 18-reputed Ku Klux
Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen.

"We have a very complex set of emotions occurring now," Bradford says.
"On the one hand, the students and I are very pleased to have been a
part of bringing justice to this case. On the other hand we certainly
cannot be elated because for our work to take place, three really good
young men had to die; three families had to suffer for 40 years."

In January, a Neshoba County grand jury indicted Killen for the murders.
The three young men were killed on a farm near Philadelphia, Miss., in
June 1964, and their bodies were found the following August, buried in
an earthen dam. Seven Klansmen were convicted in 1967 of the crimes and
eight were acquitted, but the jury couldn't reach a verdict in three
cases-including Killen's.

Bradford, a member of Christ United Methodist Church in Deerfield, Ill.,
says his faith has motivated him throughout the unfolding drama. On his
desk is a Bible verse-- Galatians 6:2-"Bear one another's burdens, and
in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." That verse is a daily
reminder that he is called to work for justice for the three slain young
men.

"Obviously, we are called as Christians to work to bring the justice in
the world," he says. "The way I have always put it is in 1964, three
brave idealists were murdered for seeking justice, and 40 years later,
three idealists came along and said, 'We are going to pick up your
burden, we are going to carry on for you.'"

The students helped draft a resolution calling on the federal government
to reopen the case. They and Bradford are being lauded for publicizing
the murders. Earlier this year Mark Kirk, congressman from Illinois, and
others honored their efforts on the floor of Congress.

"I realized how important our project was when we were sitting in
Congressman John Lewis' office and he complimented us on our work,"
Saltiel says. "If a congressman approved of it, we knew we could make a
difference from there." Lewis marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr. and other civil rights workers during the 1960s.

Bradford explains that it was the burning of a United Methodist
church-Mt. Zion-that brought the three civil rights workers to
Mississippi.

"Mt Zion was burned because the brave people of that United Methodist
church had voted to allow the church to be used as a Freedom School to
train people to get the right to vote," Bradford says.

"I see a spiritual connection between Mt. Zion United Methodist Church
in Mississippi and Christ United Methodist Church in Deerfield, Ill., in
that my church has been praying with us so much-they have been faithful
witnesses to it all."

"It is so easy to admire Barry for what he is doing, for how central his
faith has been in the midst of this and how passionate he feels about
all this," says the Rev. Christian Coon, pastor of Christ United
Methodist Church. "It is inspiring for me and others because so often in
the church we speak about justice and lift up the prophets, but to see
somebody actually doing it is helping the church to look at itself more
closely and realize that we can do something more than just talk about
justice. Barry is a great example of that."

Bradford conducted the interview with Killen because the Justice
Department wasn't comfortable with high school students doing the
interview.

"It was a very odd conversation for many reasons," he says. "It was
difficult emotionally because we have grown so close to the families of
the young men who were murdered. We feel like we are members of their
extended family."

In the interview, Bradford says Killen told him that white people were
angry because they thought the men had come to Mississippi to convert
people to communists. "His ideas are clearly far outside the
mainstream."

Killen is an ordained Baptist minister and is commonly referred to as
"Preacher Killen," Bradford says. "It was difficult for me to address
him as 'Rev.' because he shows no remorse. Your average high school
teacher doesn't talk to people accused of murder."

Bradford helped the students select the topic for their project. "I sort
of opened the door and got out of the way," he says.

"Mr. Bradford is an amazing teacher because he doesn't just teach
history; he helps his students to become a part of it," Nichols says.
"We don't view the civil rights era as just a chapter in our U.S.
history book. It is something that is ongoing and directly affects us,
and because of this, we want to be a part of it."

Siegel adds, "One of the most important things I've learned from this
process is that anyone can get involved in anything they think is
important. Any help is greatly appreciated. This matter is not one
concerning a particular faith, race or religion. I was inspired to do
this work because of the values I have been taught."

Nichols says her faith has helped carry her through all that has
happened.

"I have never met Mickey, Andy or J.E., but after listening to so many
people who did know them and who survived their work during the civil
rights movement, I think it is impossible not to feel some sort of
connection," she says. "It would be so easy to allow myself to hate the
people responsible for their deaths, but I don't want to be burdened
with that hatred for the rest of my life. Instead, I choose to honor
their memories and fight for their ideals."

The students produced a documentary, wrote a congressional resolution
and then lobbied Congress to get it passed. Bradford says he is not sure
where the resolution stands now that Killen has been indicted.

"If you think about that, it is pretty remarkable for three 16-year-olds
to stand up at a Congressional breakfast, to stand up in front of Jesse
Jackson Jr. and all kinds of different folks, and say, 'Hey look, you
need to be doing more here.'

"Each step of the way they have kept faith with the process," he says.
"I think the most significant reaction they have gotten is the families
have been very grateful to the students."

Caroline Goodman, the mother of Andrew Goodman, speaks highly of the
three students, calling them "super heroes." Bradford says she told him,
"When I look at your students, I am seeing Andy. Their compassion, their
drive is the same as his, and it gives me hope for the future.'"

Bradford and his students feel like a part of history. He says the day
Killen was indicted was a phenomenal day for all of them. "But there is
still much to be done," he adds.
Others involved in the murders need to be brought to justice, he says.

"We are a small part of a large movement. We do not get credit for
reopening this case; a lot of people-certainly the families-have been
working on it for 40 years. But one of the things that our faith as
Christians tells us is from small things great things come."

# # #

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in
Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470
or newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org