Program Title: Asheville Honors the Legacy of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner,
And Andrew Goodman, A Juneteenth Lunch and Learn Event
Location: Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center, 121 Shiloh Rd, Asheville
Organizers: Martin Luther King Association and Congregation Beth Israel
Sponsors: Martin Luther King Association of Asheville, Congregation Beth Israel, City
of Asheville, Congregation Beth Ha Tephila, Carolina Jews for Justice
Synopsis:
On June 21, 1964, three young men, James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew
Goodman disappeared near the town of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Michael Schwerner
and James Chaney worked for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and Andrew
Goodman was a college student from New York who volunteered to work on voter
registration, education, and Civil Rights as part of the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project.
During the summer of 1964, the Klu Klux Klan burned 20 black churches in Mississippi,
including Neshoba’s Mount Zion Baptist Church, where Schwerner had once worked.
Before setting the Mt. Zion ablaze, the Klan severely beat several people attending a
meeting there. Upon hearing this news, the three civil rights workers traveled from Ohio,
where they were training, to Mississippi. At 4 PM, on the drive to Meridian, they were
stopped by police. Chaney, the driver, was arrested for speeding and the other two men
were detained. At 10 PM, they were permitted to pay the fine and were instructed to
leave the county. They were never seen alive again.
On August 4, after six weeks of searching, the FBI uncovered the bodies of Schwerner,
Chaney, and Goodman in an earthen dam. After their release from jail, as they drove
back to Meridian, they were again stopped by a patrol car, this time accompanied by
two carloads of Klan members. The three men were taken to a remote rural road where
Schwerner and Goodman were each shot once in the chest. After first being tortured,
Chaney was shot three times. The three young men were then buried in shallow
graves.
Chaney, a black man from Mississippi, Schwerner and Goodman, Jewish men from up
north, shared a passion for justice and racial equality, a pursuit for which they lost their
lives. On the 60th Anniversary/Yahrzeit of their deaths, the Martin Luther King
Association of Asheville and Congregation Beth Israel have joined to honor the legacy
of these men during the week of Juneteenth. The Memorial will include a candle
lightening ceremony by community leaders, music, a panel discussion, refreshments
and an opportunity for sharing. Please save the date and we look forward to seeing you
at this and other Juneteenth events in Asheville.