Let Justice Roll Down . . .

I had not had the chance to blog this story about the reopening of the 1960s murder cases of Wharlest Jackson and of Charles Moore and Henry Dee in Mississippi. And now I'm glad I was behind, because I can also direct you to Donna Ladd's important investigative piece, just published today at the Jackson Free Press, which she did in collaboration with David Ridgen of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., with help from JFP photographer Kate Medley, JFP reporter Natalie Irby, and CBC intern Thabi Moyo.

Donna tells the story of how she and filmmaker David Ridgen followed Thomas Moore on his trip back to Mississippi, from his home in Colorado, after learning that US Attorney Dunn Lampton would reopen the case of his brother Charles' murder.  There is a lot that is good about this story: the depth that Donna went into the history of the murders; the rendering of Charles and Thomas' closely intertwined lives as brothers; the focus on their mother, Mazie Moore; the description of their way of life; the description of Mrs. Moore's suffering and of Thomas' and of how they endured the loss in silence—never speaking about it in the family, in the Black community, or in the white community; the voice of Henry Dee's sister, Mrs. Mary Byrd; and having some proximity to the experience of Thomas Moore—his long anger and sorrow and the measure of healing he is able to have now in his homecoming.

But the other good in this fine piece of journalism is not in the the words that Donna wrote but in what has come out of her and the others involved doing this work. Donna describes accompanying Thomas Moore to his brother's grave site:

It is dusk by the time we get to the cemetery back behind Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church where Charles Moore used to be a substitute Sunday School teacher. It is on a dirt road near Kirby, right off Seale Road N.W., across a cattle guard, encircled by a barb-wire fence. The rain has stopped, the sky is pinkish-gray, and the cicadas have followed us.

Thomas is quiet as he strides to the back right corner of the cemetery. He slows down as he approaches his family plot; his shoulders slump as he bends over graves that are starting to cave in a bit to look at his brother’s tombstone. Its condition takes him back, and he seems surprised at an inscription he hasn’t read in years. It is handwritten into a block of concrete, like a child scrawling their initials into a wet sidewalk. The word “born” is crumbling away:

Cherlie Eddie Moor
B______ Aug. 10, 1944
Beried July 1964
Darling, we will miss you
Anywhere in Glory

It is the only time we will see Thomas seem embarrassed. “I got to get a new tombstone,” he says, adding, “A local guy did this. He didn’t spell his name right.” The grave is surrounded by family names—Moore, Buckles, Cameron; his mother and father lie at the head of Charles’ grave.

After Jackson Free Press reader Stephanie S. Dreher read this heartbreaking moment, she wrote the following in the comments section for the article:

Donna, is there any way I could work with Thomas to get Charles a new headstone? I've set many because I have participated in several headstone dedications. Since Thomas is so far away, I would like to volunteer to do this. Maybe there are JFP-ers out there who would like to help with the purchase? I spent my summers in west Lincoln county and east Franklin county as a child. I know this area and would like to help Thomas and his family with this.

Donna checked this out with Thomas and reported back:

I just talked to Thomas, Steph, and he said he would be honored for the young people of Mississippi to take up a collection for a monument to his brother. He said he would e-mail you directly about it at the address you have linked there. Let's definitely get started passting the hat tonight at Hal & Mal's. I think it's a beautiful step.

We should also think of a way of honoring Henry Dee in a similar way. Thomas, David, Kate and I went looking for his grave, but did not find it, yet (although we were promptly lost on dirt roads for an hour getting back!). So I'll give you details on his gravesite when I have them.

And so Stephanie has now taken up a collection for the Moore/Dee Headstone Fund. Anyone who'd like to make a donation can do so through Paypal. You can make a donation by clicking on this DONATE button, which will also stay in my sidebar as long as the collection is going on.

(Stephanie requests that you include "Moore/Dee Headstone Fund" in the subject of your payment form, so there is no confusion.)

And the ripples from this kind of communal desire for justice emanate outwards, palpably. Ray, whose comment from another piece at JFP I quoted previously, tells some of his own story and another of the many, many stories yet to be properly told about the past:

The school in this story reminded me of my little elementary school, Hinze - where we had no running water or cafeteria and the bathrooms were on the outside. We brought our sacked lunches and ate outside. I still love my little school that is still standing to this day. I even go by and walk the ground sometimes just to rejoice over old times. Sometimes I even find some of my boyhood friends there doing the same thing.

The mother in this story was an outstanding woman. I don't remember getting this many pairs of pants, apples or oranges. Perhaps it was because there were 10 or more of us.

There was a similar school in or near Philadelphia, Mississippi. I think it was near Mt. Zion. I went to Neshoba County in 1979 to investigate the title or deed to that school. The land deed records weren't clear and had so many missing portions that I eventually gave up in my effort to help the rightful owners repossess that land and building. In my pursuit of this, I visited the home of Bud Cole and his wife. I took a good look at Mr. Cole and could see the physical injuries he suffered to his head and limbs that dreadful evening at the hands of the Klan.* He still was unafraid and willing to help me. Needless to say, this encounter had a grave effect on me. I realized how lucky I was not to be born earlier, and that I had an obligation to take advantage of a new day that only great suffering, sacrifuce and pain had brought about. Most of all, I realized that my opportunity was a direct result of great physical and mental pain of so many who never personally gained a single thing.

And Donna has further communication with Thomas Moore, from which we learn:

OK, Thomas just called again, and we talked this time. He is REALLY excited about everyone wanting to help. He really, really wants to emphasize that he wants everything that is done to honor Charles and his family to also be done for the Dee family. . . .

He said he and his son (who is now a social worker in Colorado Springs) will get set up tonight so they can post here as well, and he's going to post his son's e-mail address, so y'all can communicate directly with him. But also feel free to post messages from Mississippi and beyond here for him as well.

And interested locals are getting together to work with Thomas Moore and his family in pursuing justice in this case.

I'll stop here, so you can go read all of Donna Ladd's "I Want Justice, Too" and start following the comments.

CORRECTION FROM DONNA LADD:
"We didn't do this story after Dunn Lampton said he was going to look at those cases. He made that decision during Thomas' trip here, as a result of it apparently. That happened several days into our story, and it is very exciting."

~
*Ray is referring to the night of June 16, 1964 when Klansmen from Philadelphia and Meridian ambushed board members of the Mt. Zion Methodist Church, in the all Black Longdale, MS,  just outside Philadelphia. The Klansmen attacked after a board meeting, beating several people, including the Coles, very badly, and then returned later the same night and burned the church down. It was when, four days later, Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman arrived to investigate the church burning that they were arrested and then murdered the next day, on June 21, by the Klan and police, working hand in hand.

Comments

[Donna Ladd]

Thanks, Ben, for sending people to my story and the thread. It it a good example of Mississippians coming together in a very positive way. Tonight, Stephanie and I collected money for the tombstone at a gathering of the M.A.P. Coalition, a new coalition of musicians here of all races. People were throwing as little as a dollar into the bowl, and many of the young black musicians were thanking us for doing this story.

One only correction to your story above: We didn't do this story after Dunn Lampton said he was going to look at those cases. He made that decision during Thomas' trip here, as a result of it apparently. That happened several days into our story, and it is very exciting.

Thanks again.

[Ben G.]

Thanks for the correction, Donna. I'll add it at the bottom of the post, so it appears on the main page.

And yes, quite a wonderful example of Missippians coming together in good ways.

[Susan Klopfer]

Next stop, Birdia Keglar, Adelina Hamlet and Sonny Boy (James) Keglar? Daisy Savage and grandson? Cleve McDowell? There are so many more. Meanwhile, what a great job, Donna - thanks to the entire team. We needed that!

[Susan Klopfer]

Oh, oh. This just in:

Civil rights groups cite concerns over Roberts
Question record on voting, busing

By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | July 22, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. has a history of working to roll back government affirmative action and voting rights programs enacted to help minorities overcome the effects of past discrimination, leading some civil rights groups to eye him warily...
* * * *

L'est we forget ... This issue is coming up and if we mean business about civil rights, then our concern must be with voting rights, as well... since this is why so many of these murders occured during the 50s and 60s in the first place.

We need to let our illustrious senators know how we feel about this nominee.

Support of the Voting Rights Act reauthorization will be a critical issue in the next few years and we already know how Bush feels. We cannot afford to go backwards again. Mississippi can lead the way, for a change, if we let dear old Trent and Thad know how we feel starting now.