Bill Text: NY K02084 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the tragic murders of civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-05-06 - adopted [K02084 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-K02084-Introduced.html

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Assembly Resolution No. 2084

BY: M. of A. Seawright

        COMMEMORATING  the  60th Anniversary of the tragic
        murders of  civil  rights  activists  James  Chaney,
        Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner

  WHEREAS,  June  21,  2024,  marks the 60th Anniversary of the tragic
murders of civil  rights  workers  James  Chaney,  Andrew  Goodman,  and
Michael  Schwerner;  the  trio  were  members  of the Congress of Racial
Equity (CORE) who traveled to Mississippi during Freedom Summer in  1964
to  investigate  a church bombing and to help Black citizens register to
vote; and

  WHEREAS, The day after arriving in Mississippi, on  June  21,  1964,
they were kidnapped and brutally murdered by Ku Klux Klan members; their
bodies  were  found  44  days later buried in an earthen dam; it took 41
years to bring the main perpetrator, Edgar Ray Killen, to justice; and

  WHEREAS, The murders of Chaney, Goodman,  and  Schwerner  shook  the
conscience  of  the  nation;  their  tragic  deaths brought light to the
mainstream public about voting inequities in the Nation  and  helped  to
usher in the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and

  WHEREAS,  Family  members of the three civil rights activists, Julia
Chaney-Moss (James' sister), Stephen A.  Schwerner  (Michael's  brother)
and  David  Goodman  (Andrew's  brother) have continued their respective
siblings' fight for civil rights in the decades that followed; and

  WHEREAS, David Goodman has managed the Andrew Goodman Foundation,  a
not-for-profit organization he created along with Andrew's parents which
supports  youth leadership development, voting accessibility, and social
justice initiatives on campuses across the country; Stephen A. Schwerner
has marched against  segregation,  was  a  draft  counselor  during  the
Vietnam  War, and taught classes on the civil rights movement; and Julia
Chaney-Moss  has  continued  to  honor  her  brother's  memory   through
sustained  advocacy  on  civil  rights  issues  and her work through the
ministry; and

  WHEREAS,  Freedom  Summer  civil  rights   workers   have   historic
connections  to  Queens  College and New York City; Andrew Goodman was a
student at Queens College at the time of  his  passing  and  Stephen  A.
Schwerner,  Michael's  brother,  was  director  of  counseling at Queens
College for many years and chair of the academic senate; and

  WHEREAS,  Queens  College  President  Frank  H.  Wu  is   presenting
President's  Medals,  the  college's  highest  administrative  honor, on
Thursday, May 30, 2024, at the college's  100th  Commencement  to  Julia
Chaney-Moss, David Goodman, and Stephen A. Schwerner; and

  WHEREAS,  The  legacy  of  James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael
Schwerner encourages all eligible voters to register and participate  in
the electoral process, in tribute to all who gave their lives in support
of  voter rights, and offers deepest gratitude and appreciation to David
Goodman, Stephen A. Schwerner, and Julia Chaney-Moss for their  lifelong
commitment to civil rights and enfranchisement; now, therefore, be it


  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the tragic murders of  civil  rights
activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner; and be it
further

  RESOLVED,  That  copies  of  this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the families of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael
Schwerner.