Thursday, July 09, 2009

Tha Artivist Reports: A Philadelphia Story Part One


(c) R2C2H2 Tha Artivist/Ronald Herd II
Three Civil Rights Martyrs Tombstone Monument @ Mt. Nebo Church in Philadelphia, Ms.


Greetings fam…It’s been too long…But Your Favorite Artivist back putting in work for W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News!!!

Well I went to that City of Brotherly Love a couple of weekends back...Philadelphia, Ms that is… Actually it’s more Norman Jewison’s “In The Heat Of The Night” than Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky”…If the situation called for it I was ready to put on my best Mr. Tibbs impersonation with pimp slap included…Papa don’t take no mess!!!

Why Philadelphia, Ms???

Me and my beautiful mom went down there June 20, 2009 to participate in the 45th Annual Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs Memorial…The purpose of this yearly event is to pay homage to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that Black folks had their civil and human rights acknowledged and protected in the Magnolia State and beyond…


The event takes place in Philadelphia, Ms every year on Father’s Day weekend to commemorate the martyrdom of the Three Wise Men a.k.a. the Civil Rights Workers known as James Chaney, Andrew Goodman & Michael ‘Mickey’ Schwerner who were kidnapped and slain on June 21, 1964 (Father’s Day) and buried 15 feet deep in an earthen dam in Philadelphia, Ms…Their bodies were discovered 44 days later on Aug. 4, 1964 (the 44th U.S. Pres. Obama’s 3rd Life Affirmation Day)…Their martyrdom inspired the 1988 factually suspect feature length Hollywood movie, “Mississippi Burning”, and so hence their murders and the related judicial cases have been known by that infamous moniker.

Although Edgar ‘Preacher’ Ray Killen was sent to prison for life for his participation in the murders in 2005, there are several others still drawing breath who are more than likely not going to be persecuted or receive any form of punishment for this horrible act of inhumanity…As a matter of fact the owner of the dam and land where the activists were buried, the untouchable wealthy hoodlum known as Olen Burrage, is currently enjoying himself with all the privileges his wealth and prestige brings in his hometown of Philadelphia, Ms with no fear of judicial retribution...

The memorial service is more of a call to action for the state and federal governments respectively to investigate the unsolved murders of hundreds of citizens during the modern U.S. Civil Rights era of the middle part of the 20th Century…Although Mississippi has sought successful prosecutions in 4 out of close to 60 civil rights related murder cases (the most prominent being the Medgar Evers Murder Case & The Mississippi Burning Case involving Edgar ‘Preacher’ Ray Killen) this is still not enough considering that there is more than enough evidence around to successfully bring those alive and responsible for wreaking havoc on an disenfranchised populace to justice in other cases…

However, the problem I have is how can you trust the state to seek and upheld the law when their machinations were implicit in creating the atmosphere for allowing these crimes to occur in the first place??? For example, I had a chance to meet the proud and dignified widow of the late Herbert Lee, Mrs. Prince Lee…At 92 years young and in the sweltering Mississippi heat no less she was as energetic and engaging as she wanted to be. Her husband was killed for his involvement in helping his Black brethren exercise their right to vote. And she was left a widow with 9 kids to raise without the love and guidance of a father.
Although he was slain in cold blood with a gunshot wound to the head by a white racist, his death certificate states that it was justifiable homicide because he was killed for self defense purposes. The person that killed Mr. Lee was none other than a well connected Mississippi state legislator, E.H. Hurst. As a matter of fact the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission or the White Citizens Council was a political network where the powers of the states were abused and many citizens’ civil rights were violated all in the name of keeping the Negro in his place.

Imagine a framework of White Supremacy and racial repression/oppression that extended from the halls of congress to the bowels of the deepest and darkest corners of a Mississippi county jail cell and you can get a better idea of what these brave souls we celebrate and demand justice for were up against and the hell they endured.

It’s no wonder than why future President Ronald Reagan’s first public speech after becoming the official GOP nominee for the White House was at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia back in 1980. The charming Reagan wooed the George Wallace inclined Dixiecrat leaning audience by stating that he was first and foremost a fervent supporter of “state rights” just 16 years removed from the assassinations of Chaney, Goodman, & Schwerner…Thus continuing the infamous Nixon Southern Strategy of appeasing the southern white vote…

However, one shouldn’t think that the literal blood, sweat and tears of the Mississippi Civil Rights Generation were in vain…Earlier this month James Young was sworn in as the first Black mayor of Philadelphia,Ms….Currently Mississippi leads the nation with the most elected officials of color of any state in the union…

We didn't know what to expect when we went deep into the recesses of Dixie…As we crossed the Pearl River I wondered how many Black bodies were fed to the delight of both alligators and catfish alike over the decades…A local told us that not too long ago a 700 pound alligator was caught in its waters…It’s amazing then that they were able to find the horribly disfigured yet intact body of Mack Charles Parker in those same waters, the victim of the last “classic lynching” in America…

I must say as we finally made it into Neshoba County and into Philadelphia that it was more modern than I expected it to be...It was prototypical small town America with a thriving Main St. The hustle and bustle of modernity mixed in with quaint old southern comforts seem to thinly mask a very chronic, painful and deep hurt from Philadelphia’s not so distant dark past. But needless to say we were surprised in a quite pleasant way. However, when we try to engage some of the Black populace we witnessed firsthand that as the more things change the more they stay the same…

When we asked one elder Black person for directions to Mt. Nebo Church where the memorial march to the courthouse began, he acted like he did not know his way around although he’s been living in Philadelphia for years…Another younger Black man said he was from another county and not knowledgeable about the area…However, we lucked out and was able to procure the assistance of an elderly Black man who was dropping off one of his relatives at work…

You can tell he was respected because he stopped traffic in his van and told some younger gentlemen in a pickup truck next to us to personally show us how to get to Mt. Nebo…They did so without hesitation…At first we were a little hesitant being outsiders and not knowing who to trust…However, the gentlemen were true and led us to the church…Although we were late for the beginning of the march I was just glad to be where important history and sacrifices were made…


(c) R2C2H2 Tha Artivist/Ronald Herd II

I took several photos of the memorial tombstone of the three civil rights martyrs in front of the church…Mt. Nebo is significant in Mississippi Civil Rights lore because it is the first place in Philadelphia that allowed Mickey Schwerner and the others to meet to plan the voting rights project known as Freedom Summer. As a matter of fact Mickey Schwerner was the first major white civil rights organizer stationed outside Jackson, Ms, which no doubt showed that he had the confidence of some key members in the Black community. On the other hand Schwerner’s presence also drew the ire and malice of the infamous White Knights of the KKK. They labeled Schwerner as an outside agitator and gave him the nickname “Goatee" because of his facial hair (to have facial hair was considered as a sign of disrespect in Southern White male culture at that time). Schwerner was now a major target of arguably the most violent terrorist organization in America and it could be reasoned that his fate was sealed the moment he congregated with others at Mt. Nebo Church.


Contact An American Civil Rights Veteran Today:
http://www.crmvet.org/

More On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio:

45th Annual Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs
Memorial Service & Conference & March For Justice
*Pre-Event Show With Bro. John Gibson*

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/06/18/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

Meet James Young The First Black Mayor Of Philadelphia,Ms.
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2009/07/meet-james-young-first-black-mayor-of.html

A Great Profile Of Civil Rights Cold Case Justice Crusader Alvin Sykes...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2009/03/great-profile-of-civil-rights-cold-case.html


W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Special~Meet Alvin Sykes: Civil Rights Cold Case Justice Crusader...
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/04/02/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Special: The Shame Of A Nation...The Emmett Till Legacy

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/03/12/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

See More Emmett Till On W.E. A.L.L. B.E.:

FBI Report: Woman Emmett Till 'Whistled' @ Still Alive...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/09/fbi-report-woman-emmett-till-whistled.html

What I Will Teach My Black Son To Fear....
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-i-will-teach-my-black-son-to-fear.html

Park In Honor Of Emmett Till Opens Friday Sept. 19, 2008, in Mississippi...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/09/park-in-honor-of-emmett-till-opens.htmlmett-till-opens.html

Mississippi Comes Face To Face With Brutal Past In Emmett Till Exhibit...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/03/mississippi-comes-face-to-face-with.html

Tha Artivist Remembers Ernest Withers (1922-2007)...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2007/11/tha-artivist-remembers-ernest-withers.html

Mississippi Still Burning Like Southern California...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2007/10/mississippi-still-burning-like-southern.html

No Justice, Just Us For EMMETT...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2007/03/no-justice-just-us-for-emmett.html

More Dr. Gene Young On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News...

Barack Obama's Installation Is The End Of A Long Road To Washington For America's Civil Rights Campaigners...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2009/01/barack-obamas-installation-is-end-of.html

In Remembrance of Virgil Ware - Before the September 11 Attacks...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-remembrance-of-virgil-ware-before.html

Dr. Young Gives Food For Thought On What It's Like To Be A Civil Rights Pioneer...
http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2008/04/dr-young-gives-food-for-thought-on-what.html


Hear The Wisdom Of Dr. Young On These Following W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio
Specials...

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Special: Yes He Did...So Now What??? Defining The Obama Presidency...
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2008/11/16/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio



April 13, 2008~The State Of Black America Part One*

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2008/04/13/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio


W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Special: February 18, 2007~"We Shall Overcome"-The Henry Hampton Collection (Creator of the Award Winning Eyes On The Prize Documentary)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2007/02/18/tha-artivist-presentsmaking-b
at

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