Jackson Free Press

To fill space this weekend in The Clarion-Ledger's package on the James Ford Seale case, reporter Jerry Mitchell returned to a well from which he has drunk in the past with a story headlined "Seale Case Could Be Last of Its Kind." The article is a thinly disguised prognostication that seems to pander to a perceived demographic of readers who are "tired" of civil rights cases being brought to trial. But the article flies in the face of evidence that both the federal government and Mississippians intend to prosecute any of these old civil rights cases when the facts of the case warrant it.

For Mitchell to be certain that all the worthy cold cases have been prosecuted would be to ignore recent history. The Clarion-Ledger was caught unaware by the re-emergence in 2005 of the Dee-Moore case, as Mitchell had reported in 2000 that James Ford Seale was dead. When the Jackson Free Press, Thomas Moore (brother of Charles Moore) and CBC filmmaker David Ridgen discovered that Seale was still alive, residing near Natchez, prosecution of the case was re-opened by U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton, resulting in the trial that is now underway.

Regardless of The Clarion-Ledger's hurry to write an epitaph for this short era of civil rights prosecutions in Mississippi, the truth is that there are other cases to be investigated. The complete story of the civil rights era has not yet been told, and everyone who had a hand in wrongdoing has not yet been brought to justice. It's true that some perpetrators are dead, but not all are. While The Clarion-Ledger may be ready to call it a day, the JFP and others aren't quite done, yet. Mississippians should not be done yet, either.

For years now, The Clarion-Ledger has reported these stories as Klan murders and Klan activities. Even this past weekend in the story "Officers Reflect on Klan Probe," Mitchell painted a picture of local law enforcement in 1964 as "enemies of the Klan." But what's lost in that reporting is the complexity of the true nature of Mississippi's institutional racism in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Citizen's Council, Sovereignty Commission and Jim Crow reigned supreme. Mississippi's past is not just "old Klansmen" terrorizing "the good people." It's a tapestry of heroes, villains and victims, a history that should continue to be exposed, explored and explained.

For The Clarion-Ledger to continue this Move along, nothing more to see here… mentality in their reporting is to deny both our state's history and its brightest possible future. We need to continue the fact-finding and the truth-telling, and, yes, criminal convictions where warranted.

The Jackson Free Press is determined to continue to investigate and report on these cases. We encourage The Clarion-Ledger to do the same.

Previous Comments

ID

74945

Comment

Then there's this about the mystery of why The Clarion-Ledger is so desperate to declare the "last" civil-rights case.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-05-30T18:44:55-06:00

ID

74946

Comment

YOU GUYS ROCK!!! :-D

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-05-30T18:53:04-06:00

ID

74947

Comment

It's not just Mississippi either. Other Southern States are following suit. So, it cannot be the last! Even if folks are long gone and turned to dust, historical records may be uncovered that implicate others in long lost cases. This may not have the "high crime drama" of a real court trial. But, closure for the family is just as good as justice at times.

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-05-30T19:03:03-06:00

ID

74948

Comment

Agreed, Pike. But there seems to be odd gentlemen's agreement of some sort brewing in Mississippi not to prosecute more cases in our state. I'd hate to think that The Clarion-Ledger was privy to, or happy about, that. But they sure do keep repeating the whole "last case" b.s. I mean, that's not even good journalism, regardless of anything else. It makes no sense to just declare a "last case," not knowing whether or not more evidence will emerge, as it did in the Dee-Moore case. They were wrong then, and they may well be wrong again. It's weird to me to get yourself on the record declaring that something will never happen, and then it goes and happens anyway. I wouldn't want to put my credibility on the line with such statements. And L.W., I didn't write this one, but I sure do like it. Right on.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-05-30T19:12:04-06:00