F.B.I. Finds 3 Bodies Believed To Be Rights Workers
Files
Title
F.B.I. Finds 3 Bodies Believed To Be Rights Workers
Description
Article in the New York Times reporting on the finding of the bodies of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Andrew Schwerner.
Subject
Civil Rights--Mississippi--History--20th century
Chaney, James Earl, 1943-1964
Goodman, Andrew, 1943-1964
Schwerner, Michael Henry, 1939-1964
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Creator
Sitton, Claude
Source
MarkLevyCollection.Box6.Folder7
Publisher
Queens College Department of Special Collections and Archives (New York, N.Y.)
Date
1964-08-05
Date Created
2014-06-17
Rights
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Format
Image
JPEG
Extent
328 KB
Language
English
Type
Text
Spatial Coverage
Jackson (Miss.)
Philadelphia (Miss.)
Text
The Discovery
The following article appeared in the New York Times on August 5, 1964
F.B.I Finds 3 Bodies Believed To Be Rights Workers
GRAVES AT A DAM
Discovery Is Made in New Earth Mound in Mississippi
By Claude Sitton
Special to The New York Times
Jackson, Miss., Aug. 4-- Bodies believed to be those of three civil rights workers missing since June 21 were found early tonight near Philadelphia, Miss…
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents recovered the bodies from a newly erected earthen dam in a thickly wooded area about six miles southwest of Philadelphia in east-central Mississippi.
Pledge by Governor
Roy K. Moore, special agent in charge of the Jackson F.B.I. office, said physicians and fingerprint experts would seek to make positive identification and establish the cause of death.
[In Washington, authoritative sources said that President Johnson had telephoned Gov. Paul B. Johnson Jr. of Mississippi after having learned of the discovery of the bodies. However, this could not be confirmed immediately.]
Governor Johnson said in a statement:
"If these are the bodies of the three civil rights workers who have been missing several weeks, the investigative forces of the State of Mississippi will exert every effort to apprehend those who may have been responsible."
Area Searched Earlier
Mr. Johnson siad he understood F.B.I. agents had searched the area once before and had noticed the new dam. Later, when they saw that the dam had collected no water despite heavy showers, they returned for further investigation.
Excavation uncovered the bodies in the fill of the dam, the Governor said…
The missing men were Michael H. Schwerner, 24 years old, and Andrew Goodman, 20, both white and both from New York City, and James Earl Chaney, 21, a Negro from Meridian Mississippi.
All three had been taking part in the Mississippi Summer Project, a statewide civil rights drive, which began on the weekend of their disappearance. The drive is sponsored by the Council of Federated Organizations, a coalition of civil rights groups.
Mr. Schwerner and Mr. Chaney were members of the Congress of Racial Equality. Mr. Goodman was one of the more than 400 student volunteers in the campaign which is seeking to get Negroes registered to vote…
[Image-map of Mississippi}
[Caption]
Cross marks the site where the bodies were found.
The following article appeared in the New York Times on August 5, 1964
F.B.I Finds 3 Bodies Believed To Be Rights Workers
GRAVES AT A DAM
Discovery Is Made in New Earth Mound in Mississippi
By Claude Sitton
Special to The New York Times
Jackson, Miss., Aug. 4-- Bodies believed to be those of three civil rights workers missing since June 21 were found early tonight near Philadelphia, Miss…
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents recovered the bodies from a newly erected earthen dam in a thickly wooded area about six miles southwest of Philadelphia in east-central Mississippi.
Pledge by Governor
Roy K. Moore, special agent in charge of the Jackson F.B.I. office, said physicians and fingerprint experts would seek to make positive identification and establish the cause of death.
[In Washington, authoritative sources said that President Johnson had telephoned Gov. Paul B. Johnson Jr. of Mississippi after having learned of the discovery of the bodies. However, this could not be confirmed immediately.]
Governor Johnson said in a statement:
"If these are the bodies of the three civil rights workers who have been missing several weeks, the investigative forces of the State of Mississippi will exert every effort to apprehend those who may have been responsible."
Area Searched Earlier
Mr. Johnson siad he understood F.B.I. agents had searched the area once before and had noticed the new dam. Later, when they saw that the dam had collected no water despite heavy showers, they returned for further investigation.
Excavation uncovered the bodies in the fill of the dam, the Governor said…
The missing men were Michael H. Schwerner, 24 years old, and Andrew Goodman, 20, both white and both from New York City, and James Earl Chaney, 21, a Negro from Meridian Mississippi.
All three had been taking part in the Mississippi Summer Project, a statewide civil rights drive, which began on the weekend of their disappearance. The drive is sponsored by the Council of Federated Organizations, a coalition of civil rights groups.
Mr. Schwerner and Mr. Chaney were members of the Congress of Racial Equality. Mr. Goodman was one of the more than 400 student volunteers in the campaign which is seeking to get Negroes registered to vote…
[Image-map of Mississippi}
[Caption]
Cross marks the site where the bodies were found.
Original Format
8.5 x 11 inches (216 x 279 mm)
Paper
Collection
Citation
Sitton, Claude, “F.B.I. Finds 3 Bodies Believed To Be Rights Workers,” Queens College Civil Rights Archives, accessed May 17, 2022, http://archives.qc.cuny.edu/civilrights/items/show/274.