For Immediate Release

Justice for All Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs
The 47th Annual Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs Memorial Service and Conference will beheld on June 18th and 19th, 2011.
The Service and Conference will be preceded by a Caravan that will assemble at 610 38th
Avenue at the first Union Missionary Baptist Church in Meridian, Mississippi at 8:30 on
Saturday morning.
June 18th. The Caravan will depart at 9:00a.m. And will pass by the former COFO office
on 5th Street and 25th Avenue. The route of the Caravan will include the graves of James
Chaney and his mother Fannie Chaney; the jail where James Chaney, Andrew Goodman,and Michael Scherer were detained on June 21, 1964(until their murders could bearranged); and the site of the murders of the three civil rights workers. There will be a oneblock March for Justice and visits to the Okatibbee Missionary Baptist Church and to Mt.
Nebo Missionary Baptist Church. Finally, the Caravan for Justice will arrive at the oldLongdale Community Center site which was fire bombed because it was a meeting place
for African-Americans and Native-Americans.
We will call for pardons for Gladys and Jamie Scott and for null investigations intosuspicious deaths that have been called suicides. We will call for justice for all civil rights
martyrs because compared to the number of murders committed in Mississippi,
investigations and prosecutions of known perpetrators have been very few.
Speakers will include Ms. Diane Nash who in April of 1960 helped found the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); in 1961 she took over responsibility for theFreedom Rides from Birmingham, Alabama to Jackson, Mississippi. Ms Nash also
designed the strategy used by (SNCC)in the Selma, Alabama “Right To Vote” campaign,
and was an important organizer for the 1963 campaign in Birmingham, Alabama.
President John F. Kennedy appointed her to a National Committee that led to the passageof the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Rev. C. T. Vivian a close friend and lieutenant of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Rev.
Vivian studied for the Ministry at the American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee. In1959 Rev. Vivian met Rev. James Lawson, who was teaching Mahatma Gandhi’snonviolent direct action strategy to the Student Central Committee. On April 19th, 1960,
4,000,00 Demonstrators marched on city hall where Rev. C. T. Vivian and Diane Nashchallenged Nashville Mayor Ben West, As a result, Mayor West publicly agreed that racial
discrimination was morally wrong.

Besides remembering and honoring those whose lives were taken in the struggle, theweekend will be a time to exchange thoughts and ideas, to strategize and to develop plans tocontinue the struggle against racial, economic, legal and social oppression in Mississippi.

Directions to the 47th Annual Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs
Memorial Service and Conference.
From Meridian to Mt. Nebo Church—Take hwy 19 North to Philadelphia (37miles). Hwy 19 becomes
Holland Avenue. Proceed to Beacon Street. Turn left on Beacon Street (also known as MS-16w) and go 0.2
mile; turn right on Pecan Avenue (MS-21/19). Go 0.3 mile. Turn left on Rea Street. Go 0.4 mile. Turn right on
Carver Avenue. Go o.2 mile. Mt. Nebo will be on your right.

From Philadelphia to Long dale—Take HWY 16 East 2 miles to County Road#482 and turnleft. Go 7 miles then right onto County Road #632. Go one mile. The Long dale Center is on your right.

ContactJohn Steele, Chairman
Annual Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs Memorial Service (AMMMS)(925)497-9868
anjohnora2003@yahoo.com
We have other speakers who will speak at the 47thAnnual Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs
Memorial Service ,Conference, Rallies and March for Justice.

Curtis (Hayes) Muhammad worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC). The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). Curtis
worked in McComb, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Greenwood, Greenville, Clarksdale,Hollandale, Natchez Mississippi, Washington D.C. and Chicago, IL. Curtis latest
organizing project is the International School for Bottom-Up organizing. We cansay that Curtis is a Freedom Fighter for life.
Barbara Chaney who worked with the Congress of Racial Equality (Core) inMeridian, Mississippi and in Philadelphia, Mississippi. She is the sister of James E.
Chaney. Barbara has continued the struggle for a full measure of Justice for these47 yearsGeorge and Louis Smith both natives of Meridian, Ms. Worked with (Core)
Congress of Racial Equality from 1964 till 1967 they also worked with the(MFDP) Mississippi Freedom Party. They worked along with Michael Schwernerand James Chaney before they were murdered, along with Andrew Goodman onJune 21, 1964. The Smiths continue their work in civil rights in Fort Wayne,
Indiana as they both are executive board members of the Martin Luther King Cluband on the board of the NAACP.
Steven McNichols who was arrested on the (Core) Congress of Racial Equality
Freedom Ride on August 11, 1967, Houston, Texas. Steven and three other whitemales was thrown into the Misdemeanor tank with 107 prisoners which wascontrolled by a small band of hardened criminals. The guards told the inmates tobeat the Freedom Riders. After their release, the Texas Court of Appeals reversed
their convictions a year later. This made Steven McNichols extremely active in themovement after this experience. Steven was admitted to the California State Bar,Specializing in Employment and Civil Rights Law.
Joe Morse was in Core and MFDP worker. Nina Boles was in Core and MFDP
worker. Margaret Block was SNCC Worker and she is the sister of well known
Cvil Rights Worker Sam Block. Mrs. Valarie Hicks Powe, the Attorney for
Fredrick Jermaine Carter. Mrs. Evelyn Rasco mother of Gladys and Jamie Scott.
Yvonne Williams singer who open for Babyface and After 7. Jamal Robinson
Entrepreneur Jamal is founder of Believe in A Dream Foundation.8. Richard A.
Stevenson Sr. is presently Councilman of Fort Wayne, Indiana.9. Delois
McKinley-Elderidge is the Commissioner for the Indiana Civil Rights Commission
and on the board of the NAACP.10.Annis Annette McKenize Collins Civil Rights
Activist, Educator, Community Activist, Organizer and a Student for life inlearning . Her family helped house Civil Rights Activist. She now serves as
Educational Administrator of the Ujima Cultural Center11. Rev Dr. Samuel L.
Thompson Has a Master of Theology: from Mississippi Baptist Seminary, inJackson, MS. He received his Doctor of Divinity: from Natchez College inNatchez, MS. Presently employed: Senior pastor of the Thirty Frist Missionary
Baptist Church of Meridian, MS. Gladys and Jamie Scott who were given life
sentences for the alleged robbery of $11.00 dollars. Out now on parole for a crimethat many feel should have been pardoned with compensation. Mrs Brenda Carter,
mother of Fredrick Jermaine Carter who was found hanging from a tree inGreenwood, MS. Many more Speakers and Participants will take part in the 47thAnnual Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs Memorial Service, Conference, Caravan,Rallies, and March for Justice.