Jackson Free Press

The 45th Annual Mississippi Martyrs' Memorial Service and Conference takes place this Saturday and Sunday in Neshoba County. A one-mile "March for Justice" kicks off the event, in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King's 1966 march in Philadelphia. The march begins at 10 a.m. at the Mt. Nebo Missionary Baptist Church on Carver Avenue, and ends, as it did 43 years ago, with a rally at the Neshoba County Courthouse.

King's 1966 march took place on the second anniversary of the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. The three civil rights workers disappeared June 21, 1964, and the FBI later found their bodies in an earthen dam in Neshoba County. Prosecutors convicted Edgar Ray Killen for orchestrating the crimes 41 years later, in 2005.

"We're calling for a full measure of justice in all Mississippi civil rights murder cases," said John Steele, chairman of the 45th annual conference in a release detailing the rally and march. "We're calling on officials to vigorously prosecute all known perpetrators who murdered or conspired to murder civil rights workers and others in an attempt to suppress and deny civil rights to all."

For additional information, contact John Steele at 925-497-9868 or 941-916-1883 or send e-mail to [e-mail missing].