Remembering Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner

They were young, all in their early twenties.  Two were from the North, one from the South.  Like so many people, mostly college students, of their time, they believed they could make a change, which is what brought them to Mississippi in 1964.  They were part of a nationwide civil rights movement to help register African Americans to vote and, in the process, to challenge Mississippi's racist laws and practices.

Working for racial justice in Mississippi was a dangerous activity back then, inviting threats, harassment, and violence from members of the Ku Klux Klan and others opposed to change.  Aware of the risks, the three volunteers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner, pushed on anyway, encouraging Mississippi's African-American residents to register to vote and helping to set up local "Freedom Schools," which would educate African Americans about their rights.

For this they were killed.

Fifty years ago this month, Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner were shot by members of a faction of the Klan known for its violence and ruthlessness.  The killings took place at night along a dark Mississippi road; the victims' bodies were dumped in a nearby dam and not discovered until 44 days later.

The killings of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner helped focus national attention on racial violence and racial inequality, especially in the South.  Some point to their deaths as having played an important role in the passage of national civil rights legislation later that year.

Probably so.  But for me, the LIVES--not the deaths--of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner are what we should be remembering this summer.  All three believed in justice--in particular, in the need for everyone to work toward making a just world.  All believed in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words that injustice anywhere was a threat to justice everywhere.  And all were willing, at a young age, to act on their beliefs.

This isn't an invitation to young people (or anyone else) to follow blindly in Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner's footsteps.  The world continues to be an unfriendly, sometimes even hostile place for those intervening on behalf of others or trying to level the playing field.  As always, those lobbying for change have to be careful.

But being careful doesn't mean being indifferent.  Never has there been a greater need for people to try to make a difference in the world.  And often, some of the most meaningful changes are those supported by young people, whose idealism, energy, and tenacity prove too strong for the status quo to resist.

So whether you're starting NCC this fall or beginning your next semester here, you need to step back (now and then at least) from your own concerns and look at the big picture.  There's probably a cause or issue that's important to you and that deserves your time.  Learn about it and think about what you can do to become involved.  Plenty of young people from previous generations have made their voices heard, usually with positive results; now it's your turn.  Think of it as a "thank you" to Goodman, Chaney, Schwerner and others who came before you--and a "you're welcome" to those who'll benefit from your courage and convictions.