History, Memory, and the Mississippi FreedomMovement

James T Campbell

WISH Seminar, WISERAugust 28, 2017

!

! Let!me!begin!with!a!painting.!!

!

!!!!

! Some!of!you!will!recognize!the!image.!!Entitled!"Parson!Weems'!Fable,"!it!was!

produced!in!1939!by!Grant!Wood.!!The!painting!obviously!depicts!the!familiar!story!

of!George!Washington!and!the!cherry!tree.!!Like!the!more!famous!"American!

Gothic,"!the!image!exhibits!not!only!Wood's!visual!playfulness!but!also!his!curiously!

ambivalent!relationship,!at!once!mordant!and!affectionate,!with!American!culture.!!

Wood!included!himself!in!the!foreground,!dressed!in!period!costume,!drawing!back!

the!curtain!on!the!nation's!past,!exposing!in!the!process!the!gulf!between!the!reality!

of!American!history!and!the!stories!that!Americans!tell!themselves!about!it.!

!!

! Some!of!you!will!also!recognize!the!painting!on!which!Wood!based!the!image:!!

Charles!Willson!Peale's!"The!Artist!in!His!Museum."!!Born!in!1741,!Peale!was!a!

leading!figure!in!the!American!Enlightenment,!as!well!as!the!new!nation's!most!!

!!

!!

celebrated!portraitist,!creator!of!iconic!images!of!the!men!that!we!still!describe!as!

our!Founding!Fathers:!!Thomas!Jefferson,!Benjamin!Franklin,!Alexander!Hamilton!

and,!of!course,!George!Washington,!who!sat!for!him!seven!times!and!of!whom!Peale!

ultimately!produced!more!than!sixty!portraits.!!(The!adult!head!that!Grant!Wood!

placed!atop!the!narrow!shoulders!of!the!child!Washington!appears!to!be!based!on!

one!of!those!paintings.)!!Peale!also!enjoyed!painting!himself.!!"The!Artist!in!His!

Museum"!is!one!of!a!series!of!seven!selfUportraits!that!he!produced!in!1822,!shortly!

after!his!eightieth!birthday.!!It!shows!Peale!standing!in!the!American!Museum,!the!

nation's!first!museum!of!natural!history,!which!he!had!established!in!Philadelphia!in!

the!1780s.!!The!museum,!which!survived!into!the!early!1840s,!occupied!the!second!

floor!of!Independence!Hall,!sitting!literally!atop!the!room!where!the!Declaration!of!

Independence!and!the!U.S.!Constitution!were!birthed.!

!

! There!is!much!to!be!said!about!the!painting,!which!was!intended,!like!the!

museum!itself,!to!introduce!visitors!to!the!wonders!of!the!United!States!of!America,!

a!nation!born,!at!least!in!Peale's!rendering,!of!a!harmonious!marriage!of!Nature!and!

Enlightenment.!!By!1822,!the!museum!included!thousands!of!specimens,!displayed!

on!shelves!arranged!according!to!Linnaean!categories,!topped!by!a!series!of!

portraits!of!eminent!Americans.!!Details!of!portraits!and!specimens!are!hard!to!

discern!in!the!painting,!but!there!is!no!mistaking!the!bald!eagle!in!the!upper!left!or!

the!wild!turkey,!propped!alongside!Peale's!taxidermy!tools,!in!the!foreground.!!The!

mastodon!skeleton,!partially!visible!behind!the!curtain,!also!tells!a!tale.!!Unearthed!

from!an!excavation!in!Kentucky!in!the!1780s,!the!mastodon!became!not!only!the!

premier!attraction!in!the!museum!but!also!Exhibit!A!in!Thomas!Jefferson's!debate!

with!Comte!du!Buffon!and!other!French!naturalists,!who!had!notoriously!suggested!

that!the!flora!and!fauna!of!North!America!were!puny!and!degraded.!!(The!small!

natural!history!museum!that!Jefferson!assembled!in!the!foyer!of!Monticello!included!

a!mastodon!jawbone,!similar!to!the!one!depicted!in!the!painting's!lower!right.)!!After!

Peale's!death,!his!mastodon!skeleton!would!find!its!way!to!Baltimore,!to!a!museum!

founded!by!his!son!Rembrandt.!!Other!specimens!were!sold!off,!some!to!P.T.!Barnum!

for!display!in!his!own!American!Museum.!!(Historians!interested!in!the!

transformation!of!American!culture!in!the!early!nineteenth!century!might!begin!by!

charting!the!passage!from!Peale!to!Barnum.)!!!!!

!

! But!let!us!return!to!Wood!and!Washington.!!If!you!grew!up!in!the!United!

States,!you!surely!know!the!story,!doubtless!apocryphal,!of!sixUyearUold!George!

using!the!hatchet!he!had!received!as!a!birthday!gift!to!fell!a!cherry!tree.!!Confronted!

by!his!father,!the!lad!replied:!!“I!cannot!tell!a!lie!–!I!did!cut!it!with!my!little!hatchet.”!!

Over!the!last!decade,!I!have!shared!Wood's!painting!with!hundreds!of!students!and!I!

have!yet!to!find!a!single!AmericanUborn!student!who!did!not!immediately!get!the!

reference.!!I!have!also!not!met!a!single!student!who!could!explain!how!he!or!she!

knew!it.!!The!answer!is!embedded!in!the!title!that!Wood!gave!the!painting.!!In!1800,!

a!partUtime!preacher!and!itinerant!bookseller!named!Mason!Locke!Weems!

published!The$Life$of$George$Washington,$With$Curious$Anecdotes,$Equally$Honorable!

to$Himself$and$Exemplary$to$His$Young$Countrymen,!celebrating!the!life!of!the!

nation's!first!president,!who!had!died!the!year!before.!!The!cherry!tree!story!did!not!

actually!appear!in!the!first!edition;!it!arrived!with!the!fifth!edition,!published!in!

1806.!!But!it!remains!the!bestUremembered!tale!in!the!book,!thanks!to!its!inclusion!

in!an!1836!McGuffey!reader,!one!of!those!penny!press!texts!through!which!millions!

of!nineteenthUcentury!Americans!learned!to!read.!

!

!!

! As!its!subtitle!makes!clear,!Weems's!biography!was!intended!to!instruct!and!

edify!young!readers;!as!historian!Richard!Hofstadter!wryly!put!it,!Weems!was!the!

man!who!told!"historical!lies!in!order!to!impress!upon!the!young!the!importance!of!

telling!the!truth."!!But!the!book!had!a!serious!political!purpose.!!Americans!in!1800!

were!reeling!not!only!from!the!passing!of!the!great!Washington,!but!also!from!a!

profound!crisis!in!the!new!nation's!still!fragile!political!system.!!Notwithstanding!the!

admonitions!in!Washington's!1796!Farewell!Address,!which!railed!against!the!

"frightful!despotism"!of!political!parties,!the!nation's!political!classes!had!split!into!

two!bitterly!antagonistic!factions,!the!Federalists,!led!by!John!Adams!and!Alexander!

Hamilton,!and!the!Democratic!Republicans,!led!by!Thomas!Jefferson.!!Americans!

who!describe!our!politics!today!as!unprecedented!in!their!partisan!rancor!would!do!

well!to!revisit!the!late!1790s,!when!Federalists!castigated!Jefferson!and!his!followers!

as!atheistic!Franchophones!bent!on!unleashing!the!terror!of!the!French!Revolution!

at!home,!and!Jeffersonians!denounced!Adams!and!his!party!as!closet!monarchists!

conspiring!to!return!the!United!States!to!British!rule.!!As!the!election!of!1800!

approached,!there!was!considerable!doubt!whether!the!losing!party!would!accept!

the!outcome.!!!!!

!

! In!this!perilous!political!moment,!Parson!Weems!had!recourse!to!history,!

pouring!oil!on!turbulent!political!waters!by!calling!his!countrymen!back!to!the!

timeless!wisdom!of!the!late,!lamented!Washington,!whom!he!variously!described!as!

a!“Hero,"!"Demigod,"!"Jupiter!Conservator,”!and!"the!greatest!man!that!ever!lived."!!

With!the!nation's!future!seemingly!hanging!in!the!balance,!Weems!offered!

Americans!a!reassuring!parable!about!their!past.!!

!

! The!story!of!Parson!Weems!carries!several!morals.!!Let!me!suggest!a!few:!

! *Nations!tell!stories!about!their!pasts.!!All!social!groups!do!–!it!is!part!of!what!

makes!us!human!–!but!the!process!is!particularly!significant!in!the!life!of!nations,!

which,!as!Benedict!Anderson!has!famously!reminded!us,!are!relatively!recent!

inventions,!conjured!into!being!not!only!through!states!and!armies!but!also!through!

acts!of!imagination!and!narration!UU!through!stories.!!It!is!possible,!moreover,!that!

the!crafting!of!collective!memory!plays!a!especially!important!role!in!nations!like!the!

United!States!UU!nations!that!are!ethnically!and!religiously!diverse,!with!relatively!

shallow!histories!and!a!dearth!of!inherited!traditions!to!which!to!appeal.!

! *!Whether!considered!as!an!individual!or!a!collective!phenomenon,!historical!

memory!involves!more!than!mere!remembering!and!recounting.!!It!also!involves!

invention!and!revision,!evasion!and!erasure.!!(Wood's!painting!makes!the!point!

neatly:!!if!there!were!any!cherry!trees!to!be!tended!on!the!Washington!plantation!UU!

and!there!probably!were!UU!the!tending!was!surely!done!by!the!enslaved,!those!tiny!

figures!depicted!in!the!upper!left.)!!While!historical!events!themselves!do!not!

change,!what!we!see!when!we!look!to!the!past!changes!continuously,!in!response!to!

changes!in!our!own!circumstances,!as!well!as!to!the!changing!historical!contexts!and!

exigencies!that!we!face.!!Historical!memory!is,!in!other!words,!political,!a!site!of!

struggle.!!When!we!make!claims!about!our!past,!we!are!also!usually!making!claims!

about!the!present,!and!vice!versa.!

! *Last!but!not!least,!the!story!of!Weems’s!Washington!suggests!that!struggles!

over!historical!memory!acquire!particular!salience!and!urgency!in!those!moments!in!

which!the!generation!that!lived!a!particular!past!is!passing!away.!!We!do!not!have!a!

vocabulary!for!the!distinction!in!English!UU!I!don't!know!if!any!language!does!UU!but!

our!relationship!to!historical!events!somehow!changes!when!those!events!cease!to!

exist!as!the!remembered!experience!of!actual,!living!people!and!become!the!stuff!of!

...!what?!!History?!

!

*****!

!

! When!I!share!the!story!of!Parson!Weems!with!my!students,!it!is!always!good!

for!a!laugh.!!It!seems!so!precious!to!them,!so!quaint.!!Yet!I!would!suggest!that!the!

stories!Americans!tell!themselves!today!are!not!all!that!different.!!One!needs!look!no!

further!than!the!continuous!encomia!that!have!accompanied!the!passing!of!the!

World!War!II!generation.!!The!exploits!of!this!generation!UU!what!Tom!Brokaw!has!

famously!called!"The!Greatest!Generation"!UU!have!been!endlessly!retailed!in!recent!

years,!not!only!in!Brokaw's!bestUselling!books!and!television!specials,!but!also!in!

Hollywood!blockbusters,!museum!exhibitions,!and!now!in!the!gleaming!granite!

World!War!II!Memorial,!which!stands,!fittingly,!right!next!to!the!Washington!

Monument.!

!!

! Brokaw!is!a!good!liberal,!as!are!Tom!Hanks,!Stephen!Spielberg,!Bill!Gates,!and!

many!of!the!others!who!championed!the!World!War!II!Memorial.!!But!the!trope!of!

the!Greatest!Generation!achieved!its!ascendancy!in!a!period!of!conservative!

resurgence,!and!it!surely!owes!its!extraordinary!purchase!on!the!American!

imagination!to!that!context.!!Like!Weems's!Life$of$Washington,!it!is!essentially!

!!

fileopietistic,!inviting!us!into!a!posture!not!of!critical!reflection!but!of!uncritical!

reverence!toward!figures!whose!virtues!we!are!enjoined!to!emulate!without!any!

prospect!of!ever!actually!matching.!!Like!Weems's!biography,!it!offers!a!parable,!

deeply!reassuring!yet!also!subtly!invidious,!measuring!querulous!contemporaries!

against!the!nobility!and!selfUsacrifice!of!an!earlier!generation.!!In!the!case!of!

Brokaw's!fable,!the!implied!target!is!that!generation!of!which!I,!in!terms!of!my!birth!

year,!represent!the!last!gasp:!!that!selfUindulgent,!selfUinvolved!band!of!babblers!

known!as!the!Baby!Boomers.!!Untempered!by!the!privations!of!the!Great!Depression!

or!the!bracing!struggle!of!the!Good!War!(the!story!goes),!my!generation!rejected!the!

verities!of!its!elders.!!At!the!age!at!which!our!parents!were!saving!the!world,!we!sat!

in!our!dorm!rooms,!doing!drugs!and!dodging!the!draft,!burning!bras!and!the!

occasional!flag,!all!while!complaining!about!our!benighted!parents.!

!

! I!am!obviously!being!facetious!here,!but!the!point!is!offered!in!earnest.!!The!

stories!that!Americans!tell!themselves!about!their!history!are!political:!!they!emerge!

in!specific!political!circumstances!and!have!political!consequences.!!Consider!the!

World!War!II!Memorial.!!Dedicated!in!2004,!the!memorial!serves!not!simply!as!a!

tribute!to!the!rapidly!dwindling!ranks!of!World!War!II!veterans!but!also!as!a!sharp!

rejoinder!to!Maya!Lin’s!haunting!Vietnam!Veterans!Memorial,!erected!on!the!!!

!

!!

National!Mall!in!1982,!just!seven!years!after!the!fall!of!Saigon,!when!the!wounds!of!

the!Vietnam!War!were!still!raw.!!The!two!memorials!stand!only!a!few!hundred!yards!

apart,!but!they!tell!very!different!kinds!of!stories:!!one!black!and!the!other!white;!

one!reflective!and!somber,!even!chastening,!the!other!celebratory!and!triumphalist;!

one!etched!with!the!names!of!the!dead,!the!other!inscribed!with!all!manner!of!

patriotic!cliches.!!A!sampling:!!"Americans!came!to!liberate,!not!to!conquer,!to!

restore!freedom!and!to!end!tyranny."!!"This!was!a!people's!war!and!everyone!was!in!

it."!!"We!are!determined!that!before!the!sun!sets!on!this!terrible!struggle!our!flag!

will!be!recognized!throughout!the!world!as!a!symbol!of!freedom!on!the!one!hand!

and!of!overwhelming!force!on!the!other."!!Or!simply!this:!!"Victory!on!Land.!!Victory!

at!Sea.!!Victory!in!the!Air."!!

!

! Though!unanticipated!by!its!designer,!the!Vietnam!Memorial!became!a!kind!

of!altar,!to!which!pilgrims!brought!offerings,!deposited!at!the!base!of!panels!bearing!

the!names!of!the!loved!and!lost:!!photographs!of!unknown!children!and!

grandchildren,!flags!and!flowers,!combat!boots,!dog!tags!and!medals,!packs!of!

cigarettes,!even!a!prosthetic!leg.!!More!than!400,000!objects!to!date,!collected!daily!

and!carefully!catalogued!and!preserved!by!the!National!Park!Service,!a!kind!of!

national!memory!box.!!Nothing!remotely!similar!has!occurred!at!the!World!War!II!

Memorial.!!How!could!it?!!As!Albert!Speer!long!ago!explained,!the!whole!object!of!

fascist!architecture!UU!and!the!World!War!II!Memorial,!with!its!towering!white!pillars!

and!bronze!baldacchino!eagles,!is!palpably!fascist!UU!was!to!subsume!the!individual!

into!the!whole,!rendering!the!individual!gesture!irrelevant.!!

!

!!

! The!point!here!is!not!simply!to!criticize!an!(awful)!architectural!design,!but!to!

use!two!distinct!memorials!to!highlight!the!different!ways!in!which!Americans!

remember!and!recount!their!national!past,!as!well!as!the!political!stakes!of!those!

choices.!!Conceived!and!designed!in!a!period!of!conservative!political!ascendancy,!

the!World!War!II!Memorial!was!dedicated!by!President!George!W.!Bush!in!2004,!

against!the!backdrop!of!a!bitterly!contested!presidential!election,!a!postU9/11!global!

war!on!terror,!and!flagging!public!support!for!the!war!in!Iraq.!!In!this!context,!the!

memorial!inevitably!spoke!as!much!to!its!present!moment!as!to!the!past.!!The!

invocations!about!American!perseverance!and!might,!solidarity!and!sacrifice,!were!

not!simply!tributes!to!a!vanishing!generation!but!injunctions!to!a!current!generation!

beset!by!hesitancy,!division,!and!doubt.!!Here!again,!the!gulf!between!the!World!War!

II!Memorial!and!the!Vietnam!Memorial!could!not!be!starker.!!At!risk!of!stretching!

the!point,!one!might!even!ask!whether!the!U.S.!military!misadventure!in!Iraq!might!

have!been!avoided!had!the!kind!of!historical!reckoning!proposed!by!the!Vietnam!

Memorial!not!been!trumped!by!the!triumphalism!of!the!Greatest!Generation.!!

!

*****!

!

! As!a!student!of!African!American!history,!I!am!especially!interested!in!the!

politics!of!historical!memory!around!issues!of!race.!!How!do!we!reconcile!a!national!

narrative!grounded!in!claims!about!equality!and!unalienable!rights!to!life,!liberty,!

and!the!pursuit!of!happiness!with!our!centuriesUlong!history!of!enslavement!and!

violent!exclusion!of!African!Americans?!!One!might!begin!with!the!fact!that!those!

soaring!professions!from!the!preamble!of!the!Declaration!of!Independence!were!

authored!by!a!slaveowner,!but!the!best!example!for!my!purposes!is!the!American!

Civil!War.!!As!all!of!us!know,!the!Civil!War!remains!Americans'!favorite!historical!

subject.!!Visit!your!local!bookstore!and!you!will!find!scores!of!books!on!the!war,!

many!on!subjects!that!seem!far!too!specialized!to!attract!a!broad!readership:!!the!

voyages!of!the!Confederate!raider!Alabama,!Civil!War!nursing,!the!life!of!

Confederate!cavalry!commander!John!Singleton!Mosby.!!Battlefields!like!Gettysburg!

and!Antietam!attract!literally!millions!of!tourists,!who!approach!them!with!the!same!

reverence!with!which!pilgrims!approach!religious!shrines.!!Civil!War!reUenactors,!

dressed!in!reproduction!uniforms!correct!down!to!the!button,!shoulder!antique!

rifles!and!march!and!countermarch!across!fields!on!which!soldiers!once!died.!

!

! So!accustomed!have!we!become!to!the!romancing!of!the!Civil!War!that!we!

can!easily!forget!how!unlikely!it!is.!!Indeed,!it!is!bizarre!when!you!think!about!it,!not!

simply!because!of!the!scale!of!the!carnage!UU!the!Civil!War!remains!the!deadliest!

conflict!in!American!history!UU!but!also!because!of!what!the!war!represented:!!a!

breakdown!of!American!political!institutions,!in!which!millions!of!American!citizens!

took!up!arms!against!their!own!government!in!defense!of!their!right!to!buy!and!sell!

human!beings.!!If!one!were!seeking!a!story!to!put!a!patriotic!lump!in!every!

Americans'!throat,!this!is!seemingly!not!where!one!would!start.!!And!yet!that!is!

exactly!what!has!happened.!

!

!!

! Innumerable!U.S.!historians!have!tried!to!explain!the!conundrum,!to!explain!

how!a!deadly,!divisive!war!became!the!thing!that!most!Americans!imagine!today!UU!a!

romance!in!blue!and!gray,!full!of!gallant!generals!and!brave!citizen!soldiers,!all!

giving!(in!the!words!of!Lincoln's!Gettysburg!Address)!their!"last!full!measure!of!

devotion."!!First!and!most!obvious,!the!process!required!placing!antagonists!on!an!

equivalent!moral!plane,!as!Oscar!Handlin!observed!in!an!essay!published!on!the!

occasion!of!the!Civil!War!centennial.!!"If!the!war!were!to!bind!Americans!in!national!

unity,!both!sides!had!to!seem!right,"!Handlin!wrote.!!The!war!had!to!be!"transmuted!

from!the!bitter!conflict!it!had!been!into!an!episode!of!high!adventure!...!a!great!

pageant,!in!which!the!feats!of!the!worthy!ancestors!of!the!people!who!looked!back!

on!it!had!never!been!marred!by!dishonor!or!betrayal,!and!which!had!led!to!the!

glorious!end!of!the!Union!strengthened."!

!

! To!place!the!war's!antagonists!on!an!equal!moral!footing!required!recasting!

the!reasons!for!secession,!replacing!slavery!with!motives!more!edifying!UU!protecting!

one's!home!from!invaders,!for!example,!or!defending!Constitutional!principles!like!

state's!rights.!!This!bit!of!legerdemain!was!more!challenging!than!we!might!imagine.!!

Secessionists,!after!all,!had!been!forthright!about!their!determination!to!defend!their!

right!to!hold!slaves!as!property,!free!from!threat!of!federal!interference.!!The!

ordinances!of!secession!they!adopted!were!equally!forthright!on!the!subject,!as!was!

the!Confederate!Constitution.!!"The!new!constitution!has!put!to!rest,!forever,!all!the!

agitating!questions!about!our!peculiar!institution![of]!African!slavery,"!Confederate!

Vice!President!Alexander!Stephens!declared!in!1861.!!"This!was!the!immediate!

cause!of!the!late!rupture!and!present!revolution."!!Stephens!went!on!to!declare!the!

principle!of!human!equality!enshrined!in!the!nation's!founding!to!be!precisely!

wrong.!!"Our!government!is!founded!upon!exactly!the!opposite!idea;!its!foundations!

are!laid,!its!cornerUstone!rests,!upon!the!great!truth!that!the!negro!is!not!equal!to!the!

white!man;!that!slavery!subordination!to!the!superior!race!is!his!natural!and!normal!

condition.!!This,!our!new!government,!is!the!first!in!the!history!of!the!world,!based!

upon!this!great!physical,!philosophical,!and!moral!truth."!

!

! Notwithstanding!the!awkward!predicament!in!which!they!found!themselves,!

latterUday!defenders!of!the!Confederacy!would!largely!succeed!in!their!efforts!to!

recast!popular!memory!of!the!Civil!War,!not!only!among!white!southerners!but!also!

among!white!Americans!as!a!whole.!!The!campaign!proceeded!on!several!fronts.!!As!

historian!David!Blight!has!shown,!the!emerging!culture!of!Civil!War!commemoration!

played!a!pivotal!role,!as!did!the!increasing!ownership!of!that!culture!by!neoU

Confederate,!ostensibly!filial!organizations!like!the!Sons!of!Confederate!Veterans!

and!Daughters!of!the!Confederacy.!!Southern!educators!also!played!their!part,!

mounting!a!concerted!campaign!to!expunge!"longUlegged!Yankee!lies"!UU!preU

eminently!"lies"!about!slavery!UU!from!the!textbooks!read!by!southern!children.!!The!

new!orthodoxy!about!the!war!received!concrete!expression,!literally!and!

figuratively,!in!the!monuments!and!memorials!that!proliferated!on!college!campuses!

and!courthouse!lawns!all!across!South!(and!in!many!areas!of!the!North!as!well)!in!

the!late!nineteenth!and!early!twentieth!centuries.!!As!historian!Kirk!Savage!has!

shown,!of!the!hundreds!and!hundreds!of!Civil!War!monuments!erected!in!the!era,!

only!a!tiny!handful!even!gestured!at!slavery.!!Instead!they!focused!on!the!valor!of!

the!common!soldier,!who!typically!appeared!atop!a!high!pedestal,!anonymous!but!

alert,!rifle!at!the!ready.!

!

!!

! The!campaign!to!recast!the!meaning!of!the!Civil!War!did!not!emerge!in!the!

immediate!aftermath!of!the!war.!!Nor!was!it!much!in!evidence!during!the!

tumultuous!years!of!Radical!Reconstruction!and!soUcalled!Redemption.!!While!one!

can!point!to!various!antecedents,!the!bulk!of!the!work!was!done!in!the!quarterU

century!between!1890!and!1915.!!It!was!done,!that!is,!in!precisely!the!period!in!

which!the!generation!that!had!participated!in!the!war!was!passing!from!the!scene.!!

The!campaign!also!coincided!with!UU!and!surely!contributed!to!UU!an!extraordinary!

process!of!sectional!reconciliation!among!white!Americans,!as!northerners!

jettisoned!any!vestigial!commitment!to!African!American!equality!and!acceded!to!

the!regime!of!legal!segregation!and!formal!disfranchisement!fast!spreading!across!

the!South.!!Northern!retreat,!symbolized!by!the!failure!of!the!1890!Federal!Elections!

Bill,!was!ratified!by!a!series!of!devastating!Supreme!Court!decisions!UU!Plessy!v.!

Ferguson!in!1896,!Williams!v.!Mississippi!in!1898,!Hodges!v.!United!States!in!1906!UU!

that!effectively!reduced!the!guarantees!of!the!Fourteenth!and!Fifteenth!

Amendments!to!the!Constitution!to!a!nullity.!!With!the!question!of!African!

Americans!status!resolved,!the!Civil!War!became!ripe!for!romancing.!

!

! One!final!point:!!The!process!of!sanctifying!the!memory!of!the!Civil!War!

entailed!demonizing!Reconstruction.!!This!extraordinary!democratic!experiment,!in!

which!the!formerly!enslaved!briefly!exercised!full!civil!and!political!equality,!would!

be!recast!as!tragic!farce,!a!madcap!attempt!on!the!part!of!Northern!racial!fanatics!to!

grind!a!proud!but!prostrate!South!under!the!boot!heel!of!Negro!domination,!

extending!to!an!inferior!race!responsibilities!of!citizenship!that!they!were!manifestly!

incapable!of!bearing.!!This!cartoonish!version!of!Reconstruction,!which!remained!

the!standard!account!in!U.S.!history!textooks!right!through!the!1950s,!would!receive!

its!most!celebrated!exposition!in!D.W.!Griffith's!1915!epic!film!The$Birth$of$a$Nation.!!

Based!on!novelist!Thomas!Dixon's!1906!novel,!The$Clansman:$$An$Historical$

Romance$of$the$Ku$Klux$Klan,!Birth$of$a$Nation!was!not!only!the!longest,!most!lavish,!

!

!

!

!and!most!expensive!movie!ever!produced!to!that!time,!it!was!also!the!first!film!ever!

screened!in!the!White!House,!to!President!Woodrow!Wilson!and!his!cabinet.!!Which!

was!certainly!appropriate,!given!that!several!of!the!film's!intertitles!were!drawn!

from!Wilson's!fiveUvolume!History$of$the$American$People,!which!he!had!written!in!

his!previous!career!as!a!Princeton!University!historian.!!Not!surprisingly,!Wilson!

gave!the!film!two!thumbs!up.!!"History!writ!in!lightning,"!he!famously!declared,!"and!

it!is!all!so!terribly!true."!

!

*****!

!

! All!of!which!leads!us!to!the!Civil!Rights!Movement.!!Like!the!American!

Revolution,!the!Civil!War,!World!War!II,!and!perhaps!one!or!two!other!episodes!in!

our!history,!the!Civil!Rights!movement!is,!I!believe,!destined!to!become!one!of!the!

stories!that!future!Americans!must!and!will!tell!themselves!about!what!it!means!to!

be!an!American.!!Indeed,!the!process!is!already!underway,!paced!once!again!by!the!

slow!passing!of!the!generation!with!direct!experience!of!the!movement.!!Predictably,!

the!stories!that!appear!to!be!entrenching!themselves!in!public!memory!are!more!in!

the!nature!of!reassuring!parable!than!critical!history,!offering!yet!more!proof!of!

Americans'!extraordinary!capacity!to!find!opportunity!for!selfUcongratulation!in!

even!the!most!painful!and!violent!chapters!of!their!history.!!In!the!words!of!historian!

Joseph!Crespino,!the!Civil!Rights!movement!has!"become!the!modern!American!

melodrama,!in!which!the!nation!finally!dealt!with!anomalous!Deep!South!racists!and!

made!good!on!its!promise!of!equality!for!all!its!citizens."!!

!

! Over!the!past!twenty!years!or!so,!I!have!tried!to!track!the!process!by!

administering!an!unscientific!survey!to!students!in!my!African!American!history!

courses.!!On!the!first!day!of!class,!I!present!them!with!an!informal!quiz,!including!the!

names!of!twenty!people!associated!with!the!Civil!Rights!movement.!!All!I!ask!them!

to!provide!is!a!sentence!for!each,!a!single!nugget!of!information.!!One!imagines!that!

students!enrolling!in!an!upperUdivision!elective!at!schools!like!Brown!and!Stanford!

possess!more!background!knowledge!about!the!movement!than!Americans!at!large,!

but!that!assumption!only!makes!the!results!more!arresting.!!In!all!the!years!I!have!

given!the!quiz,!three!figures!have!enjoyed!100%!recognition.!!You!know!who!they!

are:!!Martin!Luther!King,!Jr.,!Rosa!Parks,!and!Malcolm!X.!!No!other!figure!has!ever!

attained!over!50%!recognition.!!(Thurgood!Marshall!attained!exactly!50%!in!2004,!

amidst!the!national!celebration!of!the!fiftieth!anniversary!of!the!Brown!v.!Board!

decision.)!!Most!people!on!the!list!UU!Stokely!Carmichael,!Ella!Baker,!Fred!

Shuttlesworth,!Daisy!Bates!UU!hover!between!zero!and!ten!percent.!

!

! Even!with!King,!Parks,!and!Malcolm,!students'!awareness!is!spotty!at!best.!!

Perhaps!not!surprisingly,!they!know!least!about!Malcolm,!who!seems!to!exist!in!

American!memory!less!as!an!historical!figure!than!as!a!kind!of!commodified!icon.!!

(The!poster!that!the!U.S.!Postal!Service!issued!in!1999!to!accompany!the!release!of!

the!new!Malcolm!X!stamp!offers!an!apt!illustration:!!the!revolutionary!as!

motivational!speaker.)!!Rosa!Parks!has!endured!a!similar!fate.!!By!the!time!of!!

!

!

!

her!death!in!2005,!Parks!had!become!one!of!the!most!revered!figures!in!American!

history!UU!her!body!lay!in!state!in!the!rotunda!of!the!U.S.!Capitol,!an!honor!normally!

reserved!for!presidents!UU!yet!her!apotheosis!came!at!a!cost.!!As!Jeanne!Theoharis!

and!other!historians!have!noted,!the!parable!of!a!simple!seamstress!asking!nothing!

more!than!the!right!to!sit!quietly!on!a!Montgomery!bus!required!a!radical!reduction!

of!Parks's!life!and!work.!!Not!only!did!it!mean!ignoring!the!final!fifty!years!of!her!life;!

it!also!erased!her!career!as!a!political!activist!before!1955:!!her!early!campaign!on!

behalf!of!Recy!Taylor,!a!black!woman!who!had!endured!a!brutal!gang!rape!by!white!

men;!her!participation!in!leadership!training!workshops!at!the!radical!Highlander!

Folk!School;!her!service!as!secretary!of!the!Montgomery!branch!of!the!N.A.A.C.P.!!

Rosa!Parks!was!certainly!a!seamstress!but!she!was!hardly!simple.!

!

! !!

! The!rendering!of!movement!as!melodrama!is!most!dramatic!UU!and!most!

consequential!UU!in!the!treatment!of!Martin!Luther!King,!Jr.,!who,!like!Parson!

Weems's!George!Washington,!has!become!a!synecdoche!for!an!entire!Civil!Rights!

era.!!King!has!attracted!a!voluminous!scholarly!literature,!probing!his!diverse!

intellectual!and!theological!influences,!the!impact!of!his!travels!in!India,!his!

increasingly!desperate!struggle!to!chart!a!new!political!direction!following!passage!

of!the!1964!Civil!Rights!Act!and!1965!Voting!Rights!Act.!!Yet!in!the!imagination!of!

the!wider!public,!his!career!has!largely!been!reduced!to!a!small!handful!of!episodes!

and!speeches,!none!more!important!than!the!"I!have!a!dream"!speech.!

!

! Delivered!from!the!steps!of!the!Lincoln!Memorial!during!the!1963!March!on!

Washington!for!Jobs!and!Freedom,!the!'I!have!a!dream!speech'!is!a!majestic!piece!of!

speech,!which!fully!deserves!its!place!in!the!American!canon.!!Yet!viewed!in!the!

context!of!historical!memory,!it!may!actually!be!one!of!King's!least!challenging!

efforts.!!Operating!within!the!timeUhonored!tradition!of!the!American!Jeremiad,!King!

chose!not!to!challenge!but!rather!to!affirm!the!basic!premises!of!American!society.!!

What!Civil!Rights!protestors!sought!in!his!rendering!was!no!different!from!what!

every!true!American!sought:!!a!society!in!which!the!nation's!"great!vaults!of!

opportunity"!would!be!open!to!all,!in!which!individuals!would!"not!be!judged!by!the!

color!of!their!skin!but!by!the!content!of!their!character,"!in!which!parents!would!not!

have!to!watch!the!light!of!hope!in!their!children's!eyes!flicker!and!die.!!In!the!

speech's!mostUquoted!passage,!King!made!the!point!explicit,!conjuring!"a!dream!

deeply!rooted!in!the!American!dream!...!a!dream!that!one!day!this!nation!will!rise!up,!

live!out!the!true!meaning!of!its!creed,!'We!hold!these!truths!to!be!selfUevident,!that!

all!men!are!created!equal.'"!!!

!

! The!effect!of!this!double!metonymy!UU!reducing!a!broad!popular!movement!to!

one!man,!and!that!man!to!a!single,!reassuring!speech!UU!is!not!only!to!narrow!the!

scope!and!significance!of!the!Black!Freedom!Movement!but!also!to!neglect!the!

breadth,!creativity,!and!genuine!radicalism!of!King!himself.!!School!children!today!

quote!the!'I!have!a!dream'!speech,!but!what!do!they!know!of!the!King!who!risked!his!

political!career!to!speak!out!against!the!war!in!Vietnam;!who!declared!that!every!

bomb!dropped!overseas!exploded!in!an!American!city;!who!asked!‘What!good!is!

having!the!right!to!sit!at!a!lunch!counter!if!you!can't!afford!to!buy!a!hamburger’;!who!

marched!in!Chicago!in!support!of!fair!housing;!who!came!to!Memphis,!the!city!in!

which!he!was!assassinated,!to!support!striking!garbage!men;!and!who!spent!the!

final!months!of!his!life!organizing!a!Poor!People’s!Campaign,!a!campaign!that!sought!

to!bring!the!nation’s!poor!back!to!the!National!Mall!to!demand!concerted!national!

action!on!their!behalf?!!And!absent!that!knowledge,!what!insights!do!King!and!the!

movement!he!has!come!to!symbolize!offer!them!into!their!own!racial!predicament?!!

!

! King!did!eventually!return!to!the!National!Mall,!in!the!form!of!a!massive!

granite!statue,!dedicated!in!2011.!!Designed!by!sculptor!Lei!Yixin,!the!Martin!Luther!

King,!Jr.!Memorial!consists!of!three!stone!blocks,!with!the!figure!of!King!carved!in!

the!center,!a!"stone!of!hope"!hewn!from!the!"mountain!of!despair"!UU!a!reference!to!

yet!another!passage!from!the!'I!have!a!dream'!speech.!!Having!previously!indulged!

my!views!on!memorial!architecture,!I!will!refrain!from!commenting!on!the!design,!

except!to!note!its!scale:!!King!stands!thirty!feet!tall,!more!than!ten!feet!taller!than!

!

!!!

any!of!the!more!than!one!hundred!sculptural!figures!in!the!District!of!Columbia.!!

Prior!to!the!King!Memorial,!no!statue!in!the!District!of!Columbia!had!ever!been!

permitted!to!be!taller!than!19'6",!which!is!the!height!of!the!bronze!figure!of!Freedom!

atop!the!U.S.!Capitol!dome.!!No!one!is!bigger!than!Freedom.!!Thus!the!figure!of!

Thomas!Jefferson!in!the!rotunda!of!the!Jefferson!Memorial!stands!nineteen!feet!tall.!!

The!seated!figure!of!Abraham!Lincoln!in!the!Lincoln!Memorial,!measured!from!sole!

to!crown,!likewise!comes!in!at!nineteen!feet,!though!were!he!to!stand!he!would!be!

considerably!taller!UU!close!to!28!feet.!!Yet!even!then,!he!would!remain!shorter!than!

King.!!!

!

! The!point,!again,!is!not!to!cavil!about!particular!memorial!designs!but!to!

highlight!the!inescapably!political!nature!of!historical!memory!and!the!work!that!

public!memorials!do!in!both!expressing!and!underwriting!it.!!The!King!Memorial!

offers!a!limpid!example.!!Not!only!does!it!consign!the!struggle!for!black!equality!to!

the!realm!of!past!accomplishment!(a!fact!underscored!by!the!decision!to!assign!the!

memorial!1964!Independence!Ave.!SW!as!its!official!address).!!It!also!reduces!the!

history!of!a!diverse,!decadesUlong!popular!movement!to!a!quasiUBiblical!tale!of!a!

modernUday!Moses,!leading!the!chosen!people!of!the!United!States,!black!and!white,!

to!the!Promised!Land.!!It!is!an!inspirational!story,!made!more!compelling!by!the!

circumstances!of!King's!final!speech,!delivered!the!night!before!his!assassination,!in!

which!he!stood!on!the!mountaintop!and!looked!out!a!Promised!Land!that!he,!like!

Moses,!would!never!be!permitted!to!enter.!!But!what!political!work!do!such!stories!

actually!do?!

!

*****!

!

! As!these!overlong!musings!suggests,!I!am!studying!the!politics!of!memory!of!

the!American!Civil!Rights!movement.!!To!research!the!problem,!I!have!chosen!to!

focus!on!Mississippi.!!I!chose!Mississippi,!in!part,!because!the!freedom!movement!

there!looked!different!from!what!most!Americans!today!imagine!the!Civil!Rights!

movement!to!have!been.!!When!most!Americans!think!of!Civil!Rights!they!picture!

marches,!sitUins,!boycotts,!and!other!largeUscale!demonstrations!in!public!spaces,!

typically!in!support!of!desegregation,!under!the!direction!of!charismatic!national!

leaders!like!King.!!Mississippi!was!very!different.!!The!keynote!there!was!community!

organizing!UU!slow,!patient!work,!unfolding!over!months!and!years,!far!from!the!eye!

of!the!national!media.!!Leadership!came!not!from!national!figures!like!King!(who!

spent!relatively!little!time!in!the!state)!but!from!local!people!themselves,!working!in!

conjunction!with!organizers!of!the!Council!of!Federated!Organizations!(COFO),!an!

umbrella!group!composed!chiefly!of!young!people!from!the!Student!Nonviolent!

Coordinating!Committee!(SNCC)!and!the!Congress!of!Racial!Equality!(CORE).!!The!

local!leaders!produced!by!the!movement!UU!women!like!Fannie!Lou!Hamer,!Unita!

Blackwell,!Victoria!Gray!and!Annie!Devine;!men!like!Vernon!Dahmer,!Amzie!Moore,!

Clinton!Collier,!and!E.W.!Steptoe!UU!were!people!of!modest!means!and!educations,!

!

!!

possessing!few!of!the!attributes!of!conventional!political!leadership.!!But!they!also!

possessed!great!political!acumen!as!well!as!almost!unfathomable!courage,!qualities!

that!were!recognized!and!respected!by!student!activists,!who!came!to!depend!on!

their!counsel!and!protection.!!If!there!was!a!single!defining!feature!of!the!Mississippi!

movement!it!was!this!union!of!generations,!each!of!which!contributed!its!distinctive!

energy,!experience,!and!insight!to!the!struggle.!

!

! While!Mississippi!activists!certainly!fought!for!the!right!to!use!public!

facilities,!their!main!priority!was!voter!registration.!!(At!the!time,!fewer!than!6%!of!

black!Mississippians!were!on!the!voters'!rolls;!in!several!counties!in!the!Delta,!

where!African!Americans!represented!eighty!percent!of!more!of!the!population,!not!

a!single!black!person!could!vote.)!!The!approach!initially!recommended!itself!to!

officials!in!the!Kennedy!administration,!who!saw!voter!registration!as!a!moderate!

tactic,!unlikely!to!provoke!the!kind!of!violent!opposition!aroused!by!the!Freedom!

Rides!and!other!forms!of!direct!action.!!Officials!soon!discovered!their!error.!!

Participatory,!democratic,!unapologetically!radical,!the!Mississippi!movement!

sought!not!simply!to!secure!inclusion!in!existing!political!institutions,!but!

fundamentally!to!transform!those!institutions,!to!create!a!society!in!which!the!poor!

and!black!people!UU!people,!in!the!words!of!one!SNCC!activist,!who!had!"always!been!

spoken!for"!by!others!UU!would!assert!genuine!control!over!their!political!and!

economic!lives.!!White!Mississippians!recognized!the!stakes!and!resisted!the!

movement!with!near!unanimity!and!ferocious!violence.!

!

!!!!

! Virtually!all!of!the!older!leaders!who!emerged!in!Mississippi!in!the!early!

1960s!have!died,!but!most!of!the!student!activists!who!came!to!the!state!under!the!

auspices!of!SNCC!and!CORE!still!live.!!Many!went!on!to!distinguished!activist!careers,!

not!only!in!the!field!of!Civil!Rights!but!also!in!the!antiUwar!and!women's!movements,!

the!environmental!movement,!and!campaigns!for!educational!equity!and!criminal!

justice!reform.!!Now!in!their!seventies,!they!remain!politically!engaged!and!active.!!

And!therein!lay!another!reason!for!focusing!on!the!Mississippi!movement.!!In!

contrast!to!their!predecessors!in!the!Civil!War!and!World!War!II!generations,!who!

for!the!most!quietly!accepted!the!accolades!that!accompanied!their!passing,!these!

people!are!not!going!quietly.!!They!appreciate!that!the!state!of!Mississippi!is!finally!

creating!a!Civil!Rights!museum,!but!they!also!decry!the!beggaring!of!the!state's!

public!school!system.!!They!dutifully!attend!ceremonies!commemorating!passage!of!

the!Civil!and!Voting!Rights!Acts,!but!they!also!note!the!irony!of!staging!such!events!

while!Mississippi!is!enacting!one!of!the!most!draconian!voter!identification!regimes!

in!the!country.!!In!short,!they!see!the!reduction!of!their!movement!into!yet!another!

reassuring!parable!of!racial!progress!and!they!are!not!having!it.!!If!historical!

memory!is!indeed!a!site!of!political!struggle,!then!rarely!does!one!see!the!battle!lines!

drawn!as!clearly!as!they!are!in!Mississippi!today.!

!

! So!what!exactly!am!I!doing?!!I!am!trying!to!observe!collective!memory!in!the!

making,!to!see!how!a!signal!moment!in!American!history!is!recollected!and!recast!as!

the!people!who!experienced!it!slowly!pass!away.!!To!that!end,!I!have!spent!many!

years!UU!almost!fifteen!years!now!UU!traveling!back!and!forth!to!Mississippi,!

conducting!archival!research!but!also!attending!memorial!services!and!funerals,!

reunions!of!movement!veterans,!movie!premiers,!church!services,!teachers!

workshops,!and!one!criminal!trial.!!Above!all,!I!have!talked!to!people,!hundreds!of!

people,!whose!lives!were!in!some!way!swept!up!in!the!events!that!convulsed!

Mississippi!in!the!early!1960s.!!How!do!people!who!have!lived!through!great!

historical!events!remember!and!recount!their!experiences?!!What!stories!find!their!

way!into!our!shared!national!narrative!and!what!stories!are!misremembered!or!

lost?!!What!are!the!politics!of!that!process?!!From!where!in!this!welter!of!memory!

and!forgetting,!revision!and!retelling,!will!future!Americans!find!the!story!of!the!Civil!

Rights!Movement?!

!

*****!

!

! In!the!course!of!pursuing!these!questions!I!have!become!interested!in!on!

particular!historical!episode:!!the!murder!of!James!Chaney,!Michael!Schwerner,!and!

Andrew!Goodman!outside!the!town!of!Philadelphia,!Mississippi!on!the!evening!of!

June!21,!1964.!!Let!me!spend!the!balance!of!this!essay!talking!about!that!case.!!

!

!!

! In!early!1964,!leaders!of!COFO!announced!plans!for!a!Mississippi!Summer!

Project!–!a!project!that!ultimately!brought!800!students,!most!of!them!northern!and!

white,!into!the!state.!!The!students!were!assigned!to!local!projects!around!the!state,!

to!on!voter!registration,!teach!in!soUcalled!Freedom!Schools,!and!provide!logistical!

support!for!a!newly!created,!non!Uracial!political!party,!the!Mississippi!Freedom!

Democratic!Party,!which!planned!to!challenge!the!standing!of!the!state's!lilyUwhite!

Democratic!delegation!at!the!1964!Democratic!National!Convention!in!Atlantic!City!

that!September.!!Beyond!these!immediate!goals,!the!summer!project!also!

represented!an!attempt!to!rouse!the!attention!of!an!indifferent!American!public!and!

torpid!federal!government,!both!of!which!had!turned!a!blind!eye!to!events!in!

Mississippi,!even!as!Civil!Rights!organizers!were!assaulted,!bombed!and!murdered.!!!

!

! Looking!back!today,!it!is!hard!to!credit!the!violence!directed!against!the!

movement!by!authorities!in!Mississippi!and!even!harder!to!credit!the!brazen!sense!

of!impunity!with!which!they!acted.!!In!1962,!for!example,!Herbert!Lee,!a!farmer!and!

father!of!nine!in!Amite!County!working!with!SNCC!on!voter!registration!was!shot!in!

cold!blood!by!a!member!of!the!Mississippi!state!legislature!at!a!local!cotton!gin!in!

front!of!a!slew!of!witnesses.!!His!assailant!was!never!prosecuted.!!Louis!Allen,!a!local!

logger!who!witnessed!the!shooting,!was!likewise!murdered,!apparently!after!the!FBI!

alerted!local!law!enforcement!officials!of!his!intention!to!testify!in!the!case.!!His!

assailant!has!never!been!identified.!!In!the!case!of!the!assassination!of!Medgar!Evers,!

slain!leader!of!the!Mississippi!state!branch!of!the!NAACP,!there!was!little!mystery!

about!who!did!it:!!authorities!found!the!murder!weapon!with!the!fingerprints!of!a!

prominent!White!Citizens!Council!member,!Byron!de!la!Beckwith,!on!it.!!But!this!

evidence!did!not!prevent!two!allUwhite!juries!from!acquitting!de!la!Beckwith,!nor!did!

it!deter!the!governor!of!Mississippi,!Ross!Barnett,!from!interrupting!the!second!trial,!

as!Evers's!widow!Myrlie!testified!on!the!stand,!to!shake!hands!with!the!accused.!

!

! With!their!pleas!for!federal!protection!falling!on!deaf!ears!UU!the!FBI!would!

not!"play!wet!nurse"!to!a!group!of!agitators,!FBI!Director!J.!Edgar!Hoover!huffed!UU!

activists!conceived!the!summer!project.!!Their!calculation,!cynical!to!a!degree,!was!

that!if!the!people!being!assaulted!were!white!northerners!rather!than!black!

Mississippians,!then!the!federal!government!would!be!compelled!to!act.!!As!SNCC!

veteran!Charlie!Cobb!later!put!it,!"If!you!wanted!the!nation!to!care!about!Mississippi,!

you!had!to!bring!the!nation's!children!there."!

!

! The!calculus!was!quickly!proved!correct.!!On!June!21,!day!one!of!the!summer!

project,!three!Civil!Rights!workers,!James!Chaney,!Michael!Schwerner!and!Andrew!

Goodman,!were!murdered!in!Neshoba!Country,!outside!the!town!of!Philadelphia.!!

Schwerner,!a!white!New!Yorker,!and!Chaney,!a!black!Mississippian,!had!worked!

together!for!the!previous!year!in!nearby!Meridian,!where!CORE!maintained!a!

project.!!Goodman,!a!white!New!Yorker,!had!arrived!in!Mississippi!the!day!before.!!

The!three!had!come!to!Neshoba!County!to!visit!a!local!church!that!had!been!burned!

a!few!days!before,!after!its!members!had!agreed!to!host!a!freedom!school.!!Arrested!

by!the!deputy!sheriff,!they!were!held!in!the!Philadelphia!jail!while!local!Klansmen!

assembled!and!prepared!to!execute!a!preUarranged!plan.!!Released!late!at!night,!the!

young!men!were!stopped!on!the!road!between!Philadelphia!and!Meridian,!driven!to!

a!remote!county!road,!shot,!and!buried!in!an!earthen!dam!that!had!been!prepared!to!

receive!them.!!Their!burned!out!car!was!discovered!the!next!morning.!!Their!bodies!

were!finally!discovered!after!a!fortyUfour!day!search.! !

!

! The!disappearance!of!Chaney,!Schwerner,!and!Goodman!galvanized!the!

nation.!!The!national!press!corps!decamped!for!Neshoba!County,!including!several!

reporters!from!the!New$York$Times,!whose!editor,!Turner!Catledge,!was!a!native!of!

Philadelphia,!Mississippi.!!Walter!Cronkite!reported!nightly!on!developments!in!

"Bloody!Neshoba."!!President!Lyndon!Johnson!met!with!the!families!of!the!missing!

men,!at!least!of!the!missing!white!men,!and!dispatched!two!hundred!FBI!agents!to!

the!state!to!aid!in!the!investigation,!over!the!objections!of!Hoover.!!Troops!from!the!

naval!air!station!at!Meridian!were!deployed!to!search!local!rivers!and!swamps.!!For!

better!or!worse,!the!federal!response!confirmed!project!organizers'!assumption!

about!the!relative!value!of!black!and!white!lives!in!the!eyes!of!the!nation.!

!

!!

! It!is!worth!noting!in!this!context!that!investigators!discovered!other!bodies!in!

the!course!of!their!search!for!the!missing!men.!!Precisely!how!many!is!a!subject!of!

some!dispute.!!Activists!who!were!working!in!the!state!that!summer!routinely!claim!

that!upwards!of!a!dozen!bodies!were!found,!but!their!memory!may!have!less!to!do!

with!actual!events!than!with!a!movement!song,!"In!the!Mississippi!River,"!which!was!

written!by!a!member!of!the!SNCC!Freedom!Singers!while!the!search!unfolded.!!At!

least!two!bodies!were,!in!fact,!recovered!from!the!Mississippi.!!The!two,!Charles!

Moore!and!Henry!Dee,!both!nineteen!years!old,!appear!to!have!had!no!involvement!

with!the!movement,!but!that!did!not!stop!Klansman!in!Franklin!County!from!

abducting!them,!torturing!them!for!information!about!nonUexistent!Civil!Rights!gunU

running,!chaining!their!battered!bodies!to!engine!blocks!and!dumping!them,!still!

alive,!into!the!river.!!The!discovery!of!Moore's!headless!torso,!followed!by!the!

discovery!of!Dee's!body,!ignited!a!brief!media!frenzy,!which!quickly!abated!once!it!

was!established!that!they!were!not!the!men!missing!from!Neshoba!Country.!!!

!

! While!Moore!and!Dee!faded!from!national!memory!UU!the!circumstances!of!

their!death!were!only!established!in!2007,!amdist!the!belated!prosecution!of!one!of!

the!murderers,!Chaney,!Schwerner,!and!Goodman!became!national!icons.!!Virtually!

from!the!moment!of!their!disappearance,!they!became!vessels!for!stories!larger!than!

themselves!UU!stories!about!the!decency!and!idealism!of!American!youth!and!the!

ignorance!and!brutality!of!white!Mississippians,!about!the!special!bond!between!

African!Americans!and!Jews!(Schwerner!and!Goodman!were!both!Jewish),!about!

interracial!brotherhood!and!redemptive!sacrifice.!!At!least!four!prominent!folk!

singers!UU!Pete!Seeger,!Phil!Ochs,!Tom!Paxton,!and!Richard!Farina!UU!composed!and!

recorded!songs!about!the!trio.!!Simon!and!Garfunkel's!"He!Was!My!Brother"!was!

dedicated!to!Andy!Goodman,!who!had!briefly!been!a!classmate!of!Paul!Simon's!at!

Queens!College.!!Norman!Rockwell,!whose!homely!magazine!covers!had!offered!

Americans!a!reassuring!vision!of!themselves!for!over!four!decades,!created!a!searing!

painting!of!the!scene,!"Murder!in!Mississippi,"!published!in!Look!magazine!in!1965.!!!!!!!!

!

! Popular!fascination!with!the!case!has!continued!to!this!day.!!While!the!deaths!

of!Mississippi!Civil!Rights!activists!like!Clyde!Kennard,!George!Lee,!Herbert!Lee,!

Louis!Allen,!Vernon!Dahmer,!Wharlest!Jackson!and!others!are!remembered!only!by!

movement!historians,!and!few!enough!of!those,!the!Philadelphia!murders!have!been!

explored!in!dozens!of!books!and!documentaries,!literally!thousands!of!newspaper!

and!magazine!stories,!and!no!fewer!then!three!feature!films,!including!the!Academy!

AwardUnominated!Mississippi$Burning!(which!somehow!contrived!to!cast!agents!of!

the!FBI!as!the!true!heroes!of!the!Civil!Rights!Movement).!!Interest!in!the!case!

swelled!anew!in!the!early!2000s,!as!the!fortieth!anniversary!of!the!murders!

approached!and!the!Attorney!General!of!Mississippi!announced!plans!to!reUopen!the!

case.!!On!June!21,!2005,!the!fortyUfirst!anniversary!of!the!murders,!the!man!who!had!

orchestrated!the!killings,!an!eightyUyearUold!jackleg!preacher!and!oneUtime!Klan!

Kleagle!named!Edgar!Ray!Killen,!was!convicted!of!three!counts!of!manslaughter!and!

sentenced!to!sixty!years!in!jail.!!!

!

! The!reUopening!of!the!case!unleashed!a!flood!of!fresh!media!coverage,!as!well!

as!another!round!of!memorial!gestures.!!The!three!men's!faces!now!grace!a!

commemorative!postage!stamp.!!The!road!between!Philadelphia!and!Meridian!that!

!

!!

they!traveled!on!their!final!night!is!now!the!Chaney,!Goodman!and!Schwerner!

Memorial!Highway.!!The!new!FBI!building!in!Jackson!was!recently!dedicated!as!the!

James!Chaney,!Andrew!Goodman,!Michael!Schwerner,!and!Roy!K.!Moore!Federal!

Building!(Moore!being!one!of!the!FBI!agents!who!worked!the!case).!!And!in!2015,!

Barack!Obama!conferred!on!the!three!murdered!men!the!Presidential!Medal!of!

Freedom,!the!highest!civilian!award!the!United!States!can!give.!

!

! How!are!we!to!explain!the!hold!that!this!particular!case!has!retained!on!the!

nation's!memory?!!The!simplest!answer!UU!the!answer!proffered!by!many!movement!

veterans!UU!is!that!two!of!the!victims!were!white.!!A!more!charitable!explanation!is!

that!the!case!involved!black!and!white!men!dying!together,!though!that!

interpretation!presents!problems!of!its!own.!!Consider!again!Rockwell's!"Murder!in!

Mississippi."!!Precisely!what!transpired!at!that!remote!country!crossroads!in!June,!!

!

!!

1964,!remains!uncertain,!but!what!evidence!there!is!UU!chiefly!the!statements!of!two!

of!the!murderers!who!were!turned!by!the!FBI!UU!is!that!Michael!Schwerner!was!

dragged!from!the!car!first!and!shot!immediately,!followed!by!Andrew!Goodman,!and!

then!James!Chaney,!who!may!have!shot!while!attempting!to!flee.!!(There!is!also!

forensic!evidence!suggesting!that!Chaney!was!badly!beaten!before!or!after!he!was!

shot,!though!this!too!is!a!matter!of!dispute.)!!Rockwell!could!not!have!known!this;!he!

had!no!specific!information!at!all!about!the!sequence!in!which!the!men!were!killed.!!

So!why!did!he!imagine!this!particular!scene?!!Why!did!he!cast!Michael!Schwerner!as!

the!stoic,!standing!hero!and!place!Chaney!on!his!knees?!!And!is!it!merely!coincidence!

that!the!tableau!that!he!imagined!adheres!precisely!to!the!conventions!governing!

late!nineteenth!century!emancipation!sculptures,!sculptures!that!invariably!

depicted!a!standing!Lincoln!and!a!crouching!slave,!notionally!rising!but!forever!

frozen!in!a!posture!of!abjection?!

!

!!!

! There!is!another!possible!explanation.!!Part!of!what!made!the!Philadelphia!

case!so!irresistible!to!northern!reporters!in!1964!UU!and!part!of!what!may!make!it!so!

attractive!to!national!myth!makers!today!UU!was!the!behavior!of!local!whites,!who!

lived!down!to!every!northern!stereotype!of!southern!ignorance!and!bigotry.!!Egged!

on!by!state!officials,!locals!airily!dismissed!the!disappearances!as!a!hoax,!a!publicity!

stunt!perpetrated!by!the!men!themselves.!!They!lined!bridges!to!jeer!searchers!as!

they!dragged!rivers!and!swamps!below.!!Rita!Schwerner,!Michael!Schwerner's!

widow,!who!came!to!Philadelphia!two!days!after!the!murders,!was!greeted!with!

catcalls!and!rebel!yells.!!Members!of!the!press!corps!were!assaulted!and!in!a!few!

cases!shot!at.!!Locals!steadfastly!refused!to!speak!with!the!investigators,!prompting!

one!FBI!agent!to!declare!that!Philadelphia!did!not!need!a!Klan,!since!the!whole!town!

was!clannish.!

!

! Such!behavior!persisted!for!years,!to!the!continual!wonderment!of!visiting!

reporters.!!When!Martin!Luther!King!led!a!march!in!Philadelphia!on!the!second!

anniversary!of!the!murders,!locals!pelted!the!marchers!with!bottles!and!epithets;!

King!later!described!the!experience!as!one!of!the!most!terrifying!of!his!life.!!Kneeling!

in!prayer!on!the!courthouse!lawn,!he!expressed!the!conviction!that!the!murderers!

were!within!sound!of!his!voice,!to!which!a!voice!directly!behind!him,!belonging!to!

the!deputy!sheriff!replied,!"You're!damn!right."!!When!eighteen!local!men!were!

arrested!and!charged!with!the!murders,!Philadelphia!launched!a!defense!fund,!with!

jars!for!donations!in!every!store!and!business.!!The!entire!Neshoba!County!bar!

participated!in!the!defense;!refusal!meant!career!suicide,!or!worse.!!In!the!end,!the!

state!of!Mississippi!declined!to!prosecute!the!case,!leaving!the!conspirators!to!face!

!

!!

justice!in!federal!court!on!the!charge!of!depriving!the!murdered!men!of!

Constitutional!rights!under!color!of!law,!a!charge!derived!from!a!longUforgotten!

ReconstructionUera!statute.!!Seven!of!the!eighteen!originally!accused!were!

eventually!convicted.!!The!longest!sentence!served!was!six!years.!

!

! If!the!Civil!Rights!movement!has!indeed!become!the!"modern!American!

melodrama,"!as!Joe!Crespino!has!suggested,!then!it!is!hard!to!imagine!heroes!more!

noble!than!Chaney,!Schwerner,!and!Goodman!or!villains!more!loathsome!than!the!

white!inhabitants!of!Neshoba!County.!!

!

*****!

!

! There!is!much!more!to!be!said!about!the!summer!of!1964,!which!proved!to!

be!a!more!significant!watershed!in!American!political!life!than!anyone!at!the!time!

could!possibly!have!imagined:!!stories!about!the!rude!rebuff!of!the!Mississippi!

Freedom!Democratic!Party!at!the!1964!Democratic!Convention,!the!fracturing!of!

SNCC,!and!the!emergence!of!Black!Power;!about!the!complex!intersection!of!the!

Philadelphia!murders!with!other!signal!events!of!that!summer,!including!the!first!

northern!ghetto!uprisings!and!the!Gulf!of!Tonkin!resolution;!about!the!birth!of!a!

conservative!counterrevolution!that!capitalized!on!widespread!white!anxieties!

about!a!loss!of!racial!order!to!transform!the!landscape!of!American!politics,!a!

movement!that!began!with!the!1964!presidential!campaigns!of!George!Wallace!and!

Barry!Goldwater,!achieved!its!first!national!electoral!success!with!Richard!Nixon's!

"southern!strategy,"!and!reached!a!climax!of!sorts!in!the!election!of!Ronald!Reagan,!

who,!in!a!staggering!bit!of!political!theater,!chose!to!inaugurate!his!fall!campaign!for!

the!presidency!in!1980!with!a!speech!at!the!Neshoba!County!Fair!UU!a!speech!in!

which!he!defended!the!rights!of!state!and!local!government!against!expansive!

federal!authority.!!Clearly!there!are!different!ways!to!retail!the!story!of!the!

Philadelphia!murders,!different!morals!to!be!drawn.!

!

! The!stories!that!have!been!most!moving!to!me,!however,!are!not!these!grand!

political!stories,!but!smaller,!more!intimate!stories,!told!to!me!by!people!who!do!not!

ordinarily!find!their!way!into!history!textbooks!UU!stories!lacking!in!what!might!

conventionally!call!historical!significance,!yet!precious!and!worthy!of!our!

remembering.!!!

!

! Not!surprisingly,!some!of!the!most!poignant!stories!of!that!summer!and!its!

aftermath!cluster!around!family!members!of!the!slain!men,!including!Carolyn!

Goodman,!Andrew's!mother.!!A!force!of!nature,!Mrs.!Goodman!died!in!2007!at!the!

age!of!91,!but!in!her!final!years!I!had!the!opportunity!to!spend!a!considerable!

amount!of!time!with!her!and!I!carry!many!of!her!stories!with!me.!!I!recall!one!from!

our!very!first!conversation,!as!she!recounted!her!and!her!husband's!decision!to!sign!

the!parental!permission!form!allowing!her!son,!who!was!only!nineteen,!to!

participate!in!the!Summer!Project.!!"How!could!we!not!let!him!go?"!she!asked.!!She!

then!described!slipping!a!box!of!bandages!into!her!son's!duffle!as!she!said!goodbye.!!

There!is!something!indelible!in!that!story,!in!its!simultaneous!specificity!and!

universality,!the!image!of!one!mother,!of!every!mother,!equipping!her!child!to!go!

forth!into!the!world.!

!

!!

! There!are!other!things!she!said!to!me!that!I!half!wish!I!could!forget.!!In!one!of!

our!last!conversations,!she!asked!me,!quite!out!of!the!blue,!whether!I!believed!her!

son!was!still!alive!when!the!killers!dumped!him!and!his!comrades!in!the!earthen!

dam!and!then!used!a!bulldozer!to!bury!them!beneath!twenty!feet!of!red!clay.!!We!

cannot!know!for!certain,!but!I!think!the!answer!to!that!question!is!yes.!!Autopsies!of!

Andrew!Goodman's!body!found!clay!in!his!mouth!and!clutched!in!the!fingers!of!one!

hand.!!I!am!certain!she!knew!this!but!I!think!I!know!why!she!asked.!!No,!I!told!her,!I!

don't!believe!so.!!Perhaps!there!are!some!stories!that!we!do!well!to!forget.!

!

! And!what!of!remembered!stories!that!may!not!be!true?!!In!2005,!shortly!

before!her!death,!I!invited!Mrs.!Goodman!to!Brown!University,!where!I!was!then!

teaching,!to!talk!with!my!students.!!Here!is!an!excerpt!of!the!conversation:!

!

CG:!!The!story!I'm!about!to!tell!I!haven't!told!very!much,!but!I!had!one!of!the!

southerners!who!were!among!those!who!killed!my!son!come!to!my!house.!

!

JC:!!I've!never!heard!this!story.!

!

CG:!!Most!people!haven't.!!And!my!doorbell!rang!one!day,!and!this!man!came!to!my!

house,!and!I!said,!'What!are!you!doing!here?'!!He!said,!'I!came!to!ask!for!your!

forgiveness.'!!He!said,!'Will!you!grant!me!that?'!!And!his!eyes!were!brimming!over.!!

And!I!looked!at!him,!and!I!said,!'I!can't!believe!this.'!!I!said,!'Why!are!you!here?'!!I!

mean,!I!really!didn't!know!what!to!answer!him!at!first.!!And!I!quickly!UU!I!mean,!what!

I'm!telling!you!took!instants!in!my!mind!UU!and!I!thought,!'Here!is!a!man!who!is!

risking!everything!to!come!to!my!door,!and!what!if!I!say!no?!!What!would!happen!to!

him?!!What!would!he!do?'!!And!I!thought,!'My!son!is!gone.!!He's!never!coming!back.'!!

And!I!said,!'Yes,!I!will!forgive!you.'!!And!he!cried.!!And!I!never!saw!him!again.!!So!

there!are!risks!that!we!all!take!on.!!I!don't!know!what!happened!to!him.!!I!don't!

know!where!he!is!now.!

!

! It!is!a!gorgeous!story,!one!that!distills!the!essence!of!that!beautiful,!generous,!

spirited,!courageous,!and!hopeful!woman.!!But!I!do!not!believe!that!it!is!true.!!My!

skepticism!is!partly!based!on!the!fact!that!she!had!never!previously!shared!it!with!

me,!and!partly!on!what!I!know!of!the!men!who!committed!the!murders,!none!of!

whom,!save!the!two!who!turned!state's!evidence,!ever!publicly!acknowledged!what!

they!had!done,!much!less!sought!to!apologize!or!atone!for!it.!!I!would!also!note!that!

Mrs.!Goodman's!home,!on!New!York's!Upper!West!Side,!was!in!a!building!with!a!

doorman.!!!There!was!no!doorbell!to!ring.!

!

! I!subsequently!asked!David!Goodman,!her!youngest!son,!about!the!episode,!

and!he!agreed!that!it!had!never!happened,!that!it!was!probably!the!result!of!a!dream!

or!some!crossing!of!wires!in!her!memory,!which!had!begun!to!show!the!first!signs!of!

impairment.!!She!had!first!shared!the!story!with!him!a!few!months!before,!he!told!

me,!adding!that!in!some!cases!she!identified!the!man!as!Neshoba!County!Deputy!

Sheriff!Cecil!Price.!!Price!died!in!2001.!

!

! I!thought!no!more!about!the!matter!until!Mrs.!Goodman's!memorial!service,!

when!one!of!her!eulogizers,!a!grandson,!repeated!it.!!David!and!I!spoke!with!the!

grandson!after!the!ceremony!and!confirmed!that!she!had!first!shared!the!story!with!

him!only!a!few!months!before.!!I!told!him,!gently!I!hope,!that!the!story!was!likely!

untrue,!but!I!also!old!him!not!to!worry!UU!whether!drawn!from!real!life!or!the!

recesses!of!her!subconscious!mind,!the!story!expressed!an!essential!truth!about!his!

grandmother.!

!

! The!next!day,!however,!when!I!saw!the!story!prominently!featured!in!an!

article!in!the!New$York$Times,!I!was!not!so!sure.!!Like!George!Washington's!cherry!

tree,!the!story!is!now!part!of!our!nation's!historical!memory!and!I!suspect!that!

nothing!I!write!here!or!in!the!book!I!hope!will!follow!is!going!to!uproot!it.!!I!think!I!

am!okay!with!that.!!

!