Michael Schwerner and his wife Rita joined CORE in January 1964, moving to Mississippi from New York. Bob Moses assigned him to work in Meridian where he quickly became a target of the KKK. Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman were murdered and buried at Old Jolly Farm in Neshoba County. Schwerner described Mississippi as "the decisive battleground for America. Nowhere in the world is the idea of White supremacy more firmly entrenched, or more cancerous, than in Mississippi." The murders went without a conviction until 2005.
Pictured: A black and white mug shot of Michael Schwerner. He is looking at the camera, wearing a light-colored shirt. He wears a letter board around his neck that reads, "Meridian PD/10084/ 5 4 64."
Credit: Neshoba District Attorney’s Office
