Former Klansmen Testifies: Meridian Police Sergeant Wallace Miller leaves the federal court building in Meridian, Mississippi on Wednesday night after testifying that as a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, he sold information to the FBI about a Klan conspiracy in the deaths of three Civil Rights workers in 1964. Miller said he was paid a total of $2400 for his information.

The murders of three Civil Rights workers, known as the Freedom Summer Murders, the Mississippi Civil Rights Workers' Murders, or the Mississippi Burning Murders, involved three activists who were abducted and murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi in June 1964 during the Civil Rights Movement. The victims were James Chaney from Meridian, Mississippi, and Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner from New York City. All three were associated with the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) and its member organization the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). They had been working with the Freedom Summer campaign by attempting to register blacks to vote in Mississippi. This registration effort was a part of a campaign to contest over 70 years of laws and practices - begun by several states in 1890 - that supported a systematic policy of disenfranchisement of potential black voters. The three men had traveled from Meridian, Mississippi to the community of Longdale to talk with congregation members at a church that had been burned. The trio was arrested outside Philadelphia, Mississippi following a traffic stop for speeding. They were escorted to the local jail and held for a number of hours. As the three left town in their car, they were followed by law enforcement and others. Before leaving Neshoba County their car was pulled over and all three men were abducted. They were driven to another location and shot at close range. The three men's bodies were transported to an earthen dam, where they were buried.

The disappearance of the three men was initially investigated as a missing persons case. The Civil Rights workers' burnt-out car was found near a swamp three days after their disappearance. An extensive search of the area was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, local and state authorities, and four hundred United States Navy sailors. The three men's bodies were discovered two months later, thanks to a tip-off. During the investigation, it emerged that members of the local White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, the Neshoba County Sheriff's Office and the Philadelphia, Mississippi Police Department were involved in the incident. The murder of the activists sparked national outrage and an extensive federal investigation, filed as Mississippi Burning (MIBURN), which later became the title of a 1988 film loosely based on the events. After the state government refused to prosecute, the United States federal government charged 18 individuals with Civil Rights violations in 1967. Seven were convicted and received relatively minor sentences. Outrage over the activists' disappearances helped gain passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

During the investigation, it emerged that members of the local White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, the Neshoba County Sheriff's Office and the Philadelphia, Mississippi Police Department were involved in the incident. The murder of the activists sparked national outrage and an extensive federal investigation, filed as Mississippi Burning (MIBURN), which later became the title of a 1988 film loosely based on the events. After the state government refused to prosecute, the United States federal government charged 18 individuals with Civil Rights violations in 1967. Seven were convicted and received relatively minor sentences. Outrage over the activists' disappearances helped gain passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Forty-one years after the murders took place, one perpetrator, Edgar Ray Killen, was charged by the state of Mississippi for his part in the crimes. In 2005, he was convicted of three counts of manslaughter and was given a 60 year sentence. On June 20, 2016, federal and state authorities officially closed the case and dispensed with the possibility of further prosecution. Killen died in prison in January 2018. Cecil Ray Price (1938-2001) committed the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner in June 1964. At the time of the murders, he was 26 years old and a deputy sheriff in Neshoba County, Mississippi. He was a member of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Although he was never charged with the murders, Price was convicted in October 1967 of violating the Civil Rights of the three victims. He was sentenced to a six-year prison term and served four and a half years at the Sandstone Federal Penitentiary in Minnesota. Following his release from prison he returned to Philadelphia, Mississippi and worked a variety of jobs. Cecil Price died following a fall from a piece of equipment at his job on May 6, 2001.

Forty-one years after the murders took place, one perpetrator, Edgar Ray Killen, was charged by the state of Mississippi for his part in the crimes. In 2005, he was convicted of three counts of manslaughter and was given a 60 year sentence. On June 20, 2016, federal and state authorities officially closed the case and dispensed with the possibility of further prosecution. Killen died in prison in January 2018. Cecil Ray Price (1938-2001) committed the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner in June 1964. At the time of the murders, he was 26 years old and a deputy sheriff in Neshoba County, Mississippi. He was a member of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Although he was never charged with the murders, Price was convicted in October 1967 of violating the Civil Rights of the three victims. He was sentenced to a six-year prison term and served four and a half years at the Sandstone Federal Penitentiary in Minnesota. Following his release from prison he returned to Philadelphia, Mississippi and worked a variety of jobs. Cecil Price died following a fall from a piece of equipment at his job on May 6, 2001.

Lawrence Andrew Rainey (1923- 2002) was a native Mississippian who was elected Sheriff of Neshoba County, Mississippi during the 1960s. He gained notoriety for allegedly being involved in the June 1964 murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner. Rainey was likely a member of Mississippi's White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

On recto: typewritten title and date. On verso: manuscript title, date and newspaper stamp.

Wire photographs were originally transmitted over phonelines, then later, by satellite. They were first used in the early 1920s. Associated Press became a leader with this. After pigment touch-ups, etc., the print is put into a drum (like a drum scanner). The image gets converted into audio tones that are transmitted. The tones are received and beamed onto photo-sensitive paper. Wire photographs are copies without originals---they are hybrid, transmitted objects. (Britt Salvesen, Curator and Department Head, Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 30-31, 2022)

This object has the following keywords:

• Alton Wayne Roberts
• Andrew Goodman
• Cecil Price
• Cecil Ray Price
• Civil Rights Movements
• Congress of Racial Equality
• Courthouses
• Edgar Ray Killen
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Freedom Summer Murders
• Hate crimes
• Injustice
• James Chaney
• Meridian
• Michael Schwerner
• Philadelphia
• Racial Discrimination
• Testimonies
• Voting Rights
• Voting Rights
• Wallace Miller
• Wallace Miller

• Image Dimensions: 9 7/16 x 7 in. (23.97 x 17.78 cm) Measured by Martin, Jack
• Sheet Dimensions: 9 3/4 x 7 1/4 in. (24.77 x 18.42 cm) Measured by Martin, Jack