Newspaper Page Text
4B
FEBRUARY 18, 1999
1989 report:
Enough evidence to reopen
civil rights killing case
JACKSON, Miss.
(AP) A report prepared 10 years
ago concluded that enough evi
dence existed to prosecute the
Klansmen responsible for the
1964 murders of three civil rights
workers in Neshoba Central.
But there still have been no Ku
Klux Klan members prosecuted
on murder charges for the June
21, 1964 deaths of Michael
Schwerner, Andrew Goodman
and James Chaney.
The revelation of the report’s
existence comes at the same time
that families of the slain activists
are calling on Attorney General
glike Moore and Neshoba County
istrict Attorney Ken Turner to
prosecute those responsiblein the
case.
The 1989 report was prepared
by two special assistants for the
gtate Attorney General’s office,
:‘he Clarion-Ledger reported Sun
ay.
Special Assistant Attorney Gen
{l:als John R. Henry and Jack B.
cy Jr. concluded a decade ago
that Moore had the power to take
on the so-called “Mississippi
Burning” case.
On Friday, Moore would not
comment on the report by Henry
and Lacy. Attempts Sunday to
tontact Moore through a spokes
man were unsuccessful.
. In 1989, Moore’s office found
that although some physical evi
dence had been destroyed, enough
vital evidence was available, in
Black Church Week of Prayer expands
Thousandsofchurchesand com
munity groups observed special
week, Sunday, March 7 -- Satur
day, March 13.
Despite overall improvementin
the nation’s AIDS profile, the epi
demic continues to affect Black
Americans at disproportionate
rates. As aresult, the tenth anni
versary of the Black Church Week
of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS
was observed by more churches
and community groups than ever
before. Through sermons, prayer,
musicand information about HIV/
AIDS prevention and treatment,
the week helped mobilize Black
churches to become centers for
AIDS education and compassion
ate care.
The Balm In Gilead, a New
York-based national organiza
tion, organized the AIDS aware
ness week in cooperation with
trained coalitions of churches and
community agencies in many lo
cales across the country, includ
ing: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte
(N.C.), Cincinnati, Connecticut,
Detroit, Florida (six sites includ
ing Miami and Tampa/St. Peters
burg), Kansas City (Mo.), Long
Island (N.Y.), Louisville (Ky.),
Minneapolis, Nashville, New
York City, Omaha, Pittsburgh,
San Francisco, Springfield (Ma.)
And Washington, D.C. Addition
ally, churches acting indepen
dently observed the week in
nearly every state.
. Federal statistics project that
by 2000, African Americans, while
only 13 percent of the population,
will account for 50 percent of all
AIDS cases. AIDS is now the
leading cause of death for Black
Americans aged 25-44. In 1997,
Black people were 57 percent of
all new cases of HIV (the virus
that causes AIDS), which indi
cluding an autopsy report, dental
records and a copy of the 1967
federal court transcript.
The report inspired talk in
Moore’s office then as to who
might serve as special prosecutor
in the case. Then-Deputy Attor
ney General Robert Gibbs of Jack
son, now in private practice, re
called discussions of possible pros
ecution and said he wanted the
challenge.
“I would have loved to have
gotten involved in it,” he said. “In
fact the books are still open on
that case, and nothing has ever
come to a closure.”
In some ways, the Mississippi
Burning case could prove easier
to pursue than trying Byron De
La Beckwith, convicted in 1994 of
the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers,
Henry said.
“It’s simpler in the respect that
the Neshoba County case was
never taken to trial. There is not
a speedy trial consideration,” he
said. :
In other ways, it is more diffi
cult, Henry said. “It’s more com
plex because there’s a greater cast
of characters.”
Moore began quietly looking at
the Mississippi Burning case af
ter the release of the 1988 movie
by the same name.
Moore sought to keep news of
the work in house, but word leaked
out after his Feb. 15, 1989, meet
ing with FBI agents who had in
vestigated the Mississippi Burn
cates that prevention messages
are not reaching Black people ef
fectively.
Approximately 23 million Afri
can Americans(about 80 percent)
belong to the church. As the larg
est and oldest institutions owned
by Black Americans, churches
have a history of leading the com
munity through crises. While
many Black churches have been
slow to respond to the AIDS epi
demic, many others successfully
operate AIDS ministries and so
cial service programs for people
affected by the virus.
“The Black Church Week of
Prayer for the Healing of AIDS
provides leadership and inspira
tion for thousands of churches
across the country that are work
ing to heal the devastation AIDS
is causing in their communities,”
said Pernessa C. Seele, founder/
CEO of The Balm In Gilead. “We
see that as the epidemic worsens,
more and more Black faith com
munities are providing support
for affected families and distrib
uting information aimed at stop
ping transmission of the virus,”
Ms. Seele said. ,
The Black Church Week of
Prayer for the Healing of AIDS is
based on traditional church re
vivals, when people come together
for an extended period to worship
and revere God. Because African
Americans view spirituality and
social action in close proximity,
the week is effective in changing
attitudes and behaviors. Says
Ms. Seele, “When we talk about
mobilizing the Black community,
we are in effect, talking about
mobilizing the Black Church.”
The week-long program is sup
ported in part by educational
grants from Agouron Pharmaceu
ticals, Inc. and Roche Laborato
ries, Inc.
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ing case. It also became known
that he had obtained the tran
script in the 1967 federal con
spiracy trial.
Three months later, Moore re
ported that the search for evi
}ie]nce had been less than success
ul.
Thereafter, talk of prosecuting
the case faded from the headlines
until December when the Jack
son newspaper reported that Sam
Bowers _ former imperial wizard
for the White Knights of the KKK
who was identified in testimony
asordering the killings _saidina
sealed interview that he had “ob
structed justice” in the FBI probe
and was “quite delighted to be
convicted and have the main in
stigator of the entire affair walk
out of the courtroom a free man.”
Although Bowers did not name
the“main instigator,” two confes
sions by Klansmen claim Edgar
Ray Killen coordinated the 1964
killings. Killen denies any in
volvement in the deaths, saying
he wasn’t even in the Klan.
In the 1967 federal trial of
Klansmen, jurors never heard the
two Klan confessions. Jurors con
victed Bowers of conspiracy
charges, but Killen walked free
when jurors couldn’t agree on a
verdict.
Last August, Bowers was con
victed of murder for ordering the
Klan’s 1966 murder of NAACP
leader Vernon Dahmer and was
sentenced to life in prison.
The Balm In Gilead is the
only national HIV/AIDS orga
nization is dedicated to mobi
lizing Black churches and as
sisting community-based and
public agencies that wish to
engage Black churchesin AIDS
programs. The organization is
endorsed by 10 major Black
Church national denomina
tions and caucuses, including
the eight million-member Na
tional Baptist Convention of
American, the four million
member African Methodist
Episcopal Church and popular
televangelist Bishop T. D.
Jakes. :
Funding from the Centers for
Disease Control and Preven
tion enables The Balm In
Gilead to operate the Black
Church National HIV/AIDS
Technical Assistance Center.
The Center provides training
and technical assistance to
churches and organizations
and develops HIV/AIDS edu
cational resources designed
specifically for use by Black
congregations.
With underwriting from the
Kaiser Family Foundation, The
Balm is creating the first HIV/
AIDS Sunday School curricu
lum. The curriculum, which
integrates Christian education
and AIDS awareness, provides
individual 13-week courses for
teens, young adults and adults/
parents. The curriculum will be
available in 2000.
For more information about
any programs or resources of
fered by The Balm In Gilead,
write to: 130 West 42! Street,
Suite 450, New York, N.Y.
10036, or contact the organiza
tion at (888) 225-6243, or visit
the website at
www.balmingilead.org. - ‘
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