Few episodes in the modern civil rights movement were more
galvanizing or more memorialized than the brutal murders of Michael
Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney--idealists eager to
protect and promote the rights of black Americans, even in the deep
and very dangerous South. In films like Mississippi Burning and
popular folk songs, these young men have been venerated as martyrs.
Even so, the landmark legal dimensions of their murder case have
until now remained largely lost.
Howard Ball reminds us just how problematic the prosecution of
the murderers-all members of the KKK-actually was. When the State
of Mississippi failed to indict them, the U.S. tried to prosecute
the case in federal district court. The judge there, however, ruled
that the federal government had no jurisdiction and so dismissed
the case. When the U.S. appealed, the Supreme Court unanimously
overturned the lower court decision, claiming that federal
authorities did indeed have the power to police civil rights
violations in any state. United States v. Price (1967) thus
produced a landmark decision that signaled a seismic shift in
American legal history and race relations, for it meant that local
authorities could no longer shield racist lawbreakers.
Ball weaves the tales of victims and perpetrators into a single
compelling story in which the legal process becomes as much
personal as political. Readers will learn how deputy sheriff Cecil
Price and his accomplices planned the execution of the young
freedom riders and how prosecutors and judges brought them to
justice under conspiracy charges. Along the way, Ball introduces
readers to a host of characters from the heyday of the civil rights
era-with the NAACP, CORE, and SNCC on one side, and the KKK and its
fellow travelers on the other, and politicians sitting squarely on
the fence.
Although to this day the murderers have never faced murder
charges, United States v. Price emphatically declared that the
federal government would no longer tolerate the complicity of local
and state authorities in the suppression of the constitutional
rights of southern blacks. As we approach the fortieth anniversary
of the murders in June 2004, Murder in Mississippi provides a
timely and telling reminder of the vigilance democracy requires if
its ideals are to be fully realized.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
