[Peace-discussion] Letter about Segregation From AL to Jackson, MS 1963 arrives Today-MS Gov again declines to accetpt
Joni LeViness
myths16@cox.net
Mon, 12 May 2008 21:22:49 -0500
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Everything Changes yet Nothing Changes..........
Looking forward to checking out the video.
Meanwhile this group came through Tulsa on Friday:
http://www.longestwalk.org/
Peace and Wonder,
joni
_____
From: peace-discussion-admin@lists.gp-us.org
[mailto:peace-discussion-admin@lists.gp-us.org] On Behalf Of William & Lynn
McLean
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 1:07 AM
To: peace-discussion@lists.gp-us.org
Subject: [Peace-discussion] Letter about Segregation From AL to Jackson, MS
1963 arrives Today-MS Gov again declines to accetpt
Civil Rights Letter Arrives In Miss. After 45 Years
POSTED: 3:51 pm CDT May 6, 2008
UPDATED: 4:19 pm CDT May 6, 2008
JACKSON, Miss. -- It took 45 years, but a civil rights letter denouncing
segregation finally arrived in Mississippi Tuesday.
Bill Moore set out to hand deliver the letter to Gov. Ross Barnett in 1963
during a walk from Alabama to Mississippi. But, Moore was shot and killed
during that walk.
Volunteers who finished Moore's march called this
<http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/04/28/bill-moores-unfinished-journey/>
Freedom Walk 2K8.
They made a 320-mile journey from north Alabama to Jackson, but left
disappointed after they weren't able to hand deliver the letter to Gov.
Haley Barbour.
The group made it to Jackson a day earlier than expected and were told
Barbour's schedule would not allow him to meet with them to accept the
letter.
Ellen Johnson and Ken Loukinen started the walk on April 23, the same day
Moore was killed north of Birmingham. They recorded their walk and posted
the video on <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uFZdaE9oMg> YouTube.
They arrived in Jackson Tuesday along with Bob Zellner, 65, who tried to
make the same walk in 1963. But Zellner and 11 others never made it because
they were beaten and jailed by the Alabama state troopers.
"It made a showcase of what we were trying to change in the South and we did
change that mainly by people like Bill Moore, who stood up and fought for
the right thing," Zellner said.
Zellner and Johnson said that they plan to donate the letter to the new
Civil Rights Museum that will be built on the Tougaloo College Campus.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uFZdaE9oMg> Photo(click on pic for
YOUTUBE)
Published Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Activists take walk to remember
By Lisa Rogers, Times Staff Writer
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uFZdaE9oMg> Picture
A group of walkers exit the Keener community Wednesday on U.S. Highway 11 as
they endeavor to finish the "freedom walk" on which Bill Moore was killed on
April 23, 1963. Walkers intend to give the letter Moore was carrying to a
former Freedom Walker, who will in turn deliver it to the current governor
of Mississippi. (GADSDEN TIMES | ERIC T. WRIGHT)
KEENER - It was 1963 when William Moore set out for Mississippi on a one-man
crusade for equal rights. With blisters on his feet, wearing a hand-made
sign, Moore's journey was cut short when he was shot while walking on U.S.
Highway 11 in Etowah County.
Moore had set out from Baltimore by bus for Chattanooga, Tenn. From there,
he began the walk to Mississippi to deliver a letter to then Gov. Ross
Barnett.
He still had about 300 miles to go to reach his destination when he was shot
as he walked, pushing a cart and displaying his message, on April 23, 1963.
He had the letter with him.
Now, 45 years later, a group is hoping to complete Moore's journey and
deliver the letter.
Several people set out Wednesday from the site where Moore was killed,
headed to Jackson, Miss., to see that Moore's letter is delivered to the
current governor of Mississippi.
Ellen Johnson and Ken Loukinn will anchor the walk for the two weeks it is
expected to take to complete the route.
Johnson, from New Jersey, is president of American Atheists and was inspired
when she first heard Moore's story a few years ago. "Bill Moore was an
atheist who died fighting for civil rights," she said.
Moore, a 35-year-old white letter carrier from Baltimore, wore a sign that
read "Equal Rights For All, Mississippi or Bust" on the back and "End
Segregation in America. Eat at Joe's - Both Black and White" on the front.
On the cart, he displayed a poster showing a sketch of
Christ. In letters above the sketch was the word "Wanted." Below was the
caption, "Jesus Christ - wanted for sedition, criminal anarchy, vagrancy and
conspiring to overthrow the established government."
It never was clearly established whether Moore was killed for his beliefs
about segregation or his religious beliefs. A DeKalb County grocery store
operator was arrested in the case, but a grand jury failed to indict him a
few months later. No others ever have been charged in Moore's death.
While Moore walked, he was questioned by two men about his political and
religious beliefs.
"One was sure I'd be killed for them," he wrote in his journal.
Johnson said Moore did not die in vain. Several others attempted to complete
his walk in the months following his death, but they were arrested and their
walk cut short as well. However, the Civil Rights Act passed the following
year.
"The best tribute we can do is to see the walk completed," she said. "We say
thank you for the huge sacrifice.
"This will be easy compared to what they did," Johnson said as she and the
others prepared to begin about 10 a.m.
Johnson said she has been an avid walker for a long time and has prepared
intensely for the walk.
Loukinn is a firefighter from Florida and already was in shape for the walk.
They plan to walk 22 miles a day, stopping at night along the route.
Johnson said she and those in her group plan to deliver the letter in
Jackson, Miss., to Bob Zellner, one of the original Freedom Walkers who now
lives in Connecticut. He will deliver the letter to the governor's office.
The governor's office in Mississippi is aware of the intention to deliver
the letter, Johnson said.
"The original letter is about peace, justice ...," Johnson said. "We are
paying tribute in a positive way. We don't want people to ever forget."
***************************************************************
Love and Light, wm and lynn McLean
the Blueberry Peace Farm, Magee, Mississippi, USA, EARTH
<http://blog.360.yahoo.com/dirtandsludge>
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/dirtandsludge our "flog" (Farm Log)
<http://members.aye.net/~hippie/real.htm>
http://members.aye.net/~hippie/real.htm
<http://legitgov.org/> http://legitgov.org/
Citizens for Legitimate Government
<http://s52.photobucket.com/albums/g35/cpeacesigns/?action=view¤t=StPe
terburgCollegeCampusGreens.jpg> Photobucket
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<BODY>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D531142002-13052008>Everything Changes yet Nothing=20
Changes..........</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D531142002-13052008>Looking forward to checking out the=20
video.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D531142002-13052008>Meanwhile this group came through Tulsa on=20
Friday:</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D531142002-13052008><A=20
href=3D"http://www.longestwalk.org/">http://www.longestwalk.org/</A></SPA=
N></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D531142002-13052008>Peace and Wonder,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D2><SPAN=20
class=3D531142002-13052008>joni</SPAN></FONT></DIV><BR>
<DIV class=3DOutlookMessageHeader lang=3Den-us dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft>
<HR tabIndex=3D-1>
<FONT face=3DTahoma size=3D2><B>From:</B> =
peace-discussion-admin@lists.gp-us.org=20
[mailto:peace-discussion-admin@lists.gp-us.org] <B>On Behalf Of =
</B>William=20
& Lynn McLean<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, May 07, 2008 1:07 =
AM<BR><B>To:</B>=20
peace-discussion@lists.gp-us.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Peace-discussion] =
Letter=20
about Segregation From AL to Jackson, MS 1963 arrives Today-MS Gov again =
declines to accetpt<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<H1 class=3DHeadline>Civil Rights Letter Arrives In Miss. After 45 =
Years</H1>
<DIV>
<DIV class=3Dposted>POSTED: 3:51 pm CDT May 6, 2008</DIV>
<DIV class=3Dupdated>UPDATED: 4:19 pm CDT May 6, 2008</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV id=3Dstorytools></DIV>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody><B class=3DDateline>JACKSON, Miss. -- </B>It took =
45 years,=20
but a <SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_0=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">civil =
rights</SPAN>=20
letter denouncing segregation finally arrived in <SPAN =
class=3Dyshortcuts=20
id=3Dlw_1210139832_1=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px =
dashed">Mississippi</SPAN>=20
Tuesday.=20
<DIV></DIV>Bill Moore set out to hand deliver the letter to Gov. Ross =
Barnett in=20
1963 during a walk from <SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_2=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Alabama</SPAN> =
to <SPAN=20
class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_3=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px =
dashed">Mississippi</SPAN>. But,=20
Moore was shot and killed during that walk.=20
<DIV></DIV>Volunteers who finished Moore's march called this <A=20
href=3D"http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/04/28/bill-moores-unfinished-jour=
ney/"=20
target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts =
id=3Dlw_1210139832_4><FONT=20
color=3D#003399><STRONG>Freedom Walk 2K8</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></A>.=20
<DIV></DIV>They made a 320-mile journey from north Alabama to Jackson, =
but left=20
disappointed after they weren't able to hand deliver the letter to Gov. =
<SPAN=20
class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_5=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Haley =
Barbour</SPAN>.=20
<DIV></DIV>The group made it to Jackson a day earlier than expected and =
were=20
told Barbour's schedule would not allow him to meet with them to accept =
the=20
letter.=20
<DIV></DIV>Ellen Johnson and Ken Loukinen started the walk on April 23, =
the same=20
day Moore was killed north of <SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts =
id=3Dlw_1210139832_6=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px =
dashed">Birmingham</SPAN>. They=20
recorded their walk and posted the video on <A=20
href=3D"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D5uFZdaE9oMg" target=3D_blank=20
rel=3Dnofollow><SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_7><FONT=20
color=3D#003399><STRONG>YouTube</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></A>.=20
<DIV></DIV>They arrived in Jackson Tuesday along with Bob Zellner, 65, =
who tried=20
to make the same walk in 1963. But Zellner and 11 others never made it =
because=20
they were beaten and jailed by the Alabama state troopers.=20
<DIV></DIV>"It made a showcase of what we were trying to change in the =
South and=20
we did change that mainly by people like Bill Moore, who stood up and =
fought for=20
the right thing," Zellner said.=20
<DIV></DIV>Zellner and Johnson said that they plan to donate the letter =
to the=20
new Civil Rights Museum that will be built on the Tougaloo College =
Campus.</DIV>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody> </DIV>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody><A =
href=3D"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D5uFZdaE9oMg"=20
target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><IMG alt=3DPhoto=20
src=3D"http://gtimg.ny.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=3DGT&Da=
te=3D20080424&Category=3DNEWS&ArtNo=3D837335816&Ref=3DAR&=
Profile=3D1016"=20
width=3D300 NOSEND=3D"1"></A>(click on pic for YOUTUBE)</DIV>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody> </DIV>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody><SPAN class=3Dsmital>Published Thursday, April =
24,=20
2008</SPAN><BR><SPAN class=3Dmedium><SPAN class=3Dsmall>Wednesday, April =
23, 2008=20
</SPAN><BR><BR><B>
<H2>Activists take walk to remember</H2></B><BR><STRONG>By Lisa Rogers, =
Times=20
Staff Writer</STRONG><BR>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D2 width=3D210 align=3Dright =
border=3D0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD class=3Dtext><A =
href=3D"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D5uFZdaE9oMg"=20
target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><IMG alt=3DPicture=20
=
src=3D"http://gtimg.ny.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=3DGT&Da=
te=3D20080424&Category=3DNEWS&ArtNo=3D837335816&Ref=3DAR&=
MaxW=3D250"=20
border=3D0 NOSEND=3D"1"><BR clear=3Dall></A>
<DIV>A group of walkers exit the Keener community Wednesday on =
U.S.=20
Highway 11 as they endeavor to finish the "freedom walk" on which =
Bill=20
Moore was killed on April 23, 1963. Walkers intend to give the =
letter=20
Moore was carrying to a former Freedom Walker, who will in turn =
deliver it=20
to the current governor of Mississippi. (GADSDEN TIMES | ERIC T.=20
WRIGHT)</DIV>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 align=3Dright border=3D0>
<TBODY>
<TR></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<DIV>KEENER — It was 1963 when William Moore set out for <SPAN =
class=3Dyshortcuts=20
id=3Dlw_1210139832_8=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px =
dashed">Mississippi</SPAN> on a=20
one-man crusade for equal rights. With blisters on his feet, wearing a =
hand-made=20
sign, Moore's journey was cut short when he was shot while walking on =
U.S.=20
Highway 11 in Etowah County.<BR>Moore had set out from <SPAN =
class=3Dyshortcuts=20
id=3Dlw_1210139832_9=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px =
dashed">Baltimore</SPAN> by bus=20
for <SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_10=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Chattanooga,=20
Tenn</SPAN>. From there, he began the walk to <SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts=20
id=3Dlw_1210139832_11=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px =
dashed">Mississippi</SPAN> to=20
deliver a letter to then Gov. Ross Barnett.<BR>He still had about 300 =
miles to=20
go to reach his destination when he was shot as he walked, pushing a =
cart and=20
displaying his message, on April 23, 1963. He had the letter with =
him.<BR>Now,=20
45 years later, a group is hoping to complete Moore's journey and =
deliver the=20
letter.<BR>Several people set out Wednesday from the site where Moore =
was=20
killed, headed to <SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_12=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Jackson, =
Miss</SPAN>.,=20
to see that Moore's letter is delivered to the current governor of=20
Mississippi.<BR>Ellen Johnson and Ken Loukinn will anchor the walk for =
the two=20
weeks it is expected to take to complete the route.<BR>Johnson, from =
<SPAN=20
class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_13=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">New =
Jersey</SPAN>, is=20
president of American Atheists and was inspired when she first heard =
Moore's=20
story a few years ago. "Bill Moore was an atheist who died fighting for =
<SPAN=20
class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_14=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">civil =
rights</SPAN>,"=20
she said.<BR>Moore, a 35-year-old white letter carrier from <SPAN=20
class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_15=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px =
dashed">Baltimore</SPAN>, wore a=20
sign that read "Equal Rights For All, <SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts =
id=3Dlw_1210139832_16=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px =
dashed">Mississippi</SPAN> or=20
Bust" on the back and "End Segregation in America. Eat at Joe's — =
Both Black and=20
White" on the front.<BR>On the cart, he displayed a poster showing a =
sketch=20
of<BR><BR>Christ. In letters above the sketch was the word "Wanted." =
Below was=20
the caption, "Jesus Christ — wanted for sedition, criminal =
anarchy, vagrancy and=20
conspiring to overthrow the established government."<BR>It never was =
clearly=20
established whether Moore was killed for his beliefs about segregation =
or his=20
religious beliefs. A DeKalb County grocery store operator was arrested =
in the=20
case, but a grand jury failed to indict him a few months later. No =
others ever=20
have been charged in Moore's death.<BR>While Moore walked, he was =
questioned by=20
two men about his political and religious beliefs. <BR>"One was sure I'd =
be=20
killed for them," he wrote in his journal.<BR>Johnson said Moore did not =
die in=20
vain. Several others attempted to complete his walk in the months =
following his=20
death, but they were arrested and their walk cut short as well. However, =
the=20
<SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_17=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Civil Rights =
Act</SPAN>=20
passed the following year.<BR>"The best tribute we can do is to see the =
walk=20
completed," she said. "We say thank you for the huge sacrifice.<BR>"This =
will be=20
easy compared to what they did," Johnson said as she and the others =
prepared to=20
begin about 10 a.m.<BR>Johnson said she has been an avid walker for a =
long time=20
and has prepared intensely for the walk.<BR>Loukinn is a firefighter =
from <SPAN=20
class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_18=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Florida</SPAN> =
and=20
already was in shape for the walk.<BR>They plan to walk 22 miles a day, =
stopping=20
at night along the route.<BR>Johnson said she and those in her group =
plan to=20
deliver the letter in Jackson, Miss., to Bob Zellner, one of the =
original=20
Freedom Walkers who now lives in <SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts =
id=3Dlw_1210139832_19=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px =
dashed">Connecticut</SPAN>. He=20
will deliver the letter to the governor's office.<BR>The governor's =
office in=20
<SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_20=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px =
dashed">Mississippi</SPAN> is=20
aware of the intention to deliver the letter, Johnson =
said.<BR><STRONG>"The=20
original letter is about peace, justice ...," Johnson said. "We are =
paying=20
tribute in a positive way. We don't want people to ever =
forget."</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>***************************************************************</DIV=
>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></SPAN></DIV><BR><BR>
<DIV>Love and Light, wm and lynn McLean <BR>the Blueberry Peace Farm, =
<SPAN=20
class=3Dyshortcuts id=3Dlw_1210139832_21=20
style=3D"CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Magee, =
Mississippi,=20
USA</SPAN>, EARTH <BR><A =
href=3D"http://blog.360.yahoo.com/dirtandsludge"=20
target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts =
id=3Dlw_1210139832_22><FONT=20
color=3D#003399>http://blog.360.yahoo.com/dirtandsludge</FONT></SPAN></A>=
our=20
"flog" (Farm Log) <BR><A =
href=3D"http://members.aye.net/~hippie/real.htm"=20
target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><SPAN class=3Dyshortcuts =
id=3Dlw_1210139832_23><FONT=20
color=3D#003399>http://members.aye.net/~hippie/real.htm</FONT></SPAN></A>=
<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://legitgov.org/" target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><SPAN =
class=3Dyshortcuts=20
id=3Dlw_1210139832_24><FONT=20
color=3D#003399>http://legitgov.org/</FONT></SPAN></A></DIV>
<DIV>Citizens for Legitimate Government<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://s52.photobucket.com/albums/g35/cpeacesigns/?action=3Dview&=
amp;current=3DStPeterburgCollegeCampusGreens.jpg"=20
target=3D_blank rel=3Dnofollow><IMG alt=3DPhotobucket=20
src=3D"http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g35/cpeacesigns/StPeterburgColle=
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border=3D0 NOSEND=3D"1"></A></DIV></DIV><BR clear=3Dall><BR>-- =
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