Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the day civil rights organizers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner gave their lives in the struggle to guarantee the right to vote for every citizen of the United States and encouraging all Americans to observe the anniversary of the deaths of the 3 men by committing themselves to ensuring equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal justice for all people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the bill before us, H. Con. Res. 450, and thank the gentleman from New York, Mr. Owens, for his hard work in bringing it to the floor for passage. I am an original co-sponsor of this legislation because it calls us to recognize three young men who were in fact civilian soldiers. They knew the grave dangers that faced them and yet they entered a hostile area to ensure that all men and women in our Nation would have equal access and opportunity to exercise the fundamental right to vote. These young men lived lives of peace, but unfortunately their lives were taken away from them through violence. Every young person in this country can take Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney as role models, true examples of self-sacrifice and courage, individuals who not only served others, they in fact changed the course of our Nation through their actions.

The solidarity that these noble men displayed despite the pressures that existed to keep African Americans and Whites divided was unprecedented and evidence of pure leadership. Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney knew that their actions to increase voter rights and the fact that they were a coalition of two White and one African-American men would incite hatred, disgust, and violent reaction. Their deaths ultimately facilitated the passage of one of the Civil Rights bills and showed America that the two races could unite. Therefore, we will always remember them as martyrs of an honorable cause in the same ilk as Dr. Martin Luther Kind, Jr., and Malcolm X.

I want to take a moment to talk about these three young men as individuals. I hope that through the retelling of their lives we will be able to understand that these three men were normal individuals with families who loved them and hopes for the future, but instead of living a safe life they took an extraordinary chance to fulfill justice and now today they have rightfully assumed the mantle of greatness.

James Chaney was born May 30, 1943 in Meridian, Mississippi to Ben and Fannie Lee Chaney. In 1963, he joined the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). In 1964, CORE led a massive voter registration and desegregation campaign in Mississippi called Freedom Summer. Chaney had begun volunteer work at the new CORE office in Meridian in October, 1963, his work ranged from constructing bookshelves at the community center to traveling to rural counties to set up meetings. Chaney, being black, was able to go places while CORE members were afraid to go. Chaney was only twenty-one when he died on Rock Cut Road.

Andrew Goodman was only 20 when he died on Rock Cut Road on June 21, 1964, near the end of his first full day in Mississippi. Goodman had arrived in the state early the previous morning after attending a tree- day training session in Ohio for volunteer for the Mississippi Summer Project. Goodman arrived in Mississippi excited and anxious to get to work. Goodman was intelligent, unassuming, happy, and outgoing. While a high school sophomore, Goodman traveled to Washington, DC to participate in the ``Youth March for Integrated Schools.'' Although not seeing himself as a professional reformer, Goodman knew that his life had been somewhat sheltered and thought that the experience would be educational and useful.

Michael Schwerner was the most despised civil rights worker in Mississippi. Klan Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers ordered Schwerner's ``elimination'' in May, 1964. The Klan finally got their chance to carry out the elimination order on June 21. Because they were with Schwerner, and would know too much if they were not killed, James Chaney and Andy Goodman also had to die. Schwerner had come to Mississippi in January of 1964 with his wife Rita after having been hired as a CORE field worker. In his application for the CORE position, Schwerner, a native of New York City, wrote ``I have an emotional need to offer my services in the South.'' Schwerner added that he hoped to spend ``the rest of his life'' working for an integrated society. On January 15, 1964, Michael and Rita left New York in their VW Beetle for Mississippi. After talking with civil rights leader Bob Moses in Jackson, Schwerner was sent to Meridian to organize the community center and other programs in the largest city in eastern Mississippi. Schwerner became the first white civil rights worker to be permanently based outside of the capital of Jackson. Once in Meridian, Schwerner quickly earned the hatred of local KKK by organizing a boycott of a variety store until the store, which sold mostly to blacks, hired its first African American. He also came under heavy attack for his determined efforts to register blacks to vote. After a few months in Meridian, despite hate mail and threatening phone calls and police harassment, Schwerner believed he made the right decision in coming to Mississippi. Mississippi, he said, ``is the decisive battleground for America. Nowhere in the world is the idea of white supremacy more firmly entrenched, or more cancerous, than in Mississippi.'' Michael Schwerner was only twenty-four when he was killed in Meridian.

Mr. Speaker, we must work to ensure that Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney did not die in vain. The Civil Rights movement exists only as much as we act and these three young men are the epitome of that idea. I support this legislation and hope that my colleagues will do the same to send the message that the great sacrifices of these heroic individuals will never be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 40th anniversary of the devastating murder of three courageous civil rights heroes. We must preserve the memory of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, who boldly fought for African American suffrage and helped strengthen the historic alliance between African Americans and Jews. The initial disappearance of these three leaders spurred new efforts to register African Americans to vote. Later on, national indignation over their murders provided the final impetus for the passage of President Johnson's 1964 Civil Rights Act. Together with the Voting Rights Act passed the following year, legally mandated segregation in Mississippi and throughout the South was abolished.

The Congress of Racial Equality, (CORE) called the summer of 1964 ``Freedom Summer'' and led a massive voter registration and desegregation campaign in Mississippi. This summer was filled with the promise of implementing successful civil rights reforms. On June 21st as part of the Freedom Summer activities, Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner drove to Neshoba County to express sympathy with the congregation of Mt. Zion Church, which had been recently demolished by the Klu Klux Klan. In a conspiracy between elements of the local law enforcement and the Ku Klux Klan, the activists were arrested, and upon their release taken to a remote area, brutally beaten, and shot to death.

James Chaney, an African American civil rights worker from Mississippi, had recently begun to volunteer at the new CORE office in Meridian, Mississippi. Chaney had rapidly become the chief aide, guide, and companion to the CORE director, Matt Suarez. He was only 21 when he was murdered.

Andy Goodman, a white, Jewish, civil rights worker from New York, had arrived earlier that morning in Mississippi to participate as a volunteer in the Mississippi Summer Project. Goodman was known as an intelligent, unassuming, happy, and outgoing youth, and had arrived excited and anxious to improve the rights of African Americans. He was only 20 when he was murdered.

Michael Schwerner, another white, Jewish, civil rights worker from New York, was on a mission in Mississippi to reorganize the community center as well as other programs. Schwerner was the first white civil rights worker to be permanently based outside of Jackson, Mississippi. Although he came under attack, including hate mail, threatening phone calls, and police harassment for his determined efforts to register African Americans to vote, his dedication to fostering tolerance was unwavering. He was only 24 when he was murdered.

Since their tragic murder, the family members of these three activists have continued to preserve both their memory as individuals and their legacy within United States history. To honor the 25th anniversary of the murders, their family members spoke at an African American--Jewish communal relations Seder. James Chaney's brother, Ben, has dedicated his life to ensuring the civil rights of all Americans. This year, as founder of the James Earl Chaney Foundation, he created the Freedom Summer 2004 Ride For Justice. The 20-bus caravan embarked on June 10th and is currently traveling around the country to visit a variety of historically important civil rights memorial sites, including the grave of his brother. Ben is also continuing the mission of voter registration for which the three men were murdered.

These three civil rights workers are among the few of the brave leaders who led our country out of the darkness of intolerance and discrimination, allowing future generations to live without fear. All of us as Americans must take the time today, and every day in the future, to make a firm commitment to honor their memory by fighting even harder to safeguard the ideals for which they stood. We can learn from what they embodied and continue their work to stamp out prejudice forever. It is our duty to remember by guaranteeing that the African American voice be heard through the ballot box. We must preserve the historic ties of oppression that bind the African American and Jewish communities together. For the three who died, we will still continue the struggle for justice.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reflect on the passing of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, and to honor them by promoting tolerance and preserving the civil liberties and right to equality to which every American, regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity or religion, is entitled.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 450) recognizing the 40th anniversary of the day civil rights organizers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner gave their lives in the struggle to guarantee the right to vote for every citizen of the United States and encouraging all Americans to observe the anniversary of the deaths of the 3 men by committing themselves to ensuring equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal justice for all people.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Con. Res. 450, and to include extraneous material on the concurrent resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Martin Luther King once said, ``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'' And during the Freedom Summer of 1964, a great injustice took place outside the small town of Philadelphia, Mississippi.

On June 21 of 1964, members of the Ku Klux Klan attacked and murdered three participants of the Freedom Summer project, an African American voter registration drive. Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner were attacked after driving away from the scene of a firebombed church. The murders drew national attention to the civil rights movement taking place in the deep south.

Today, 40 years to the day after their murders, we remember the contributions to America and to the Civil Rights movement by Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner.

Mr. Speaker, four decades ago, poll taxes, overly-complex voting tests, and mental and physical attacks terribly discouraged African Americans from voting in Mississippi during the 1960s. The Freedom Summer project was launched to help combat this reality, and Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner were active organizers of this effort. Sadly, it was not until news coverage of their murders that many Americans became aware of the unbelievable violence that was taking place here in our own country. The brutal murder of these three brave men was indeed a momentous event. In fact, it provided the basis for the 1988 film ``Mississippi Burning.''

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens), for his work to bring this solemn anniversary to all of our attention. House Concurrent Resolution 450 is an important reminder of America's volatile past, and it aims to help all Americans work to assure that such atrocities will never happen again.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the resolution's adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Let me also say that we certainly honor the gentleman from Georgia as well as the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia. They have earned all the respect of every American. They certainly are some of the greatest civil rights leaders that this Nation will ever have seen. Let me say that we honor them both as well.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity yesterday to visit the State of Mississippi and to visit the city of Philadelphia in Neshoba County.

Hundreds of black and white citizens gathered in Neshoba County in the city of Philadelphia. The mayor of the city of Philadelphia, the Governor, former Governor Winters, the former Secretary of State, Dick Molpus, and hundreds and hundreds of other citizens gathered to pay tribute to these three young men.

Forty years ago today, three courageous young Americans, Andy Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner, paid the ultimate price for trying to secure voting rights for all of our citizens. These three young men, simply because they were black and white working together to expand democracy, were arrested by the sheriff and his deputy. Later that same evening, they were taken to jail and turned over to the Klan where they were beaten, shot, and killed.

As I said yesterday, and I will say it again today, it is unbelievable, it is unreal, but it did happen. These three young people did not die in Europe, they did not die in Africa, in Vietnam or the Middle East, but right here in our own country, in the heart of the South, in the State of Mississippi. As a Nation and as a people we must never, ever forget the sacrifice they made. Their blood helped to cultivate and grow the seeds of our democracy.

Forty years ago in the State of Mississippi, that State had a black voting age population of more than 450,000, but only about 16,000 blacks were registered to vote. People had to pass a so-called literacy test and interpret some section of the constitution of the State of Mississippi. On one occasion there was a man who had a graduate degree, a Ph.D. degree, and he flunked the so-called literacy test. On another occasion in an adjoining State, the State of Alabama, a man was asked to give the number of bubbles in a bar of soap.

These three brave and courageous citizens, young citizens of America, must be looked upon as the founding fathers of the new America. James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner, and Andy Goodman helped beat down one of the mightiest walls of resistance to equal justice in America. We must never, ever forget their sacrifice for the freedom of us all. They made it possible for many of us to stand here today in this Congress.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure and my delight to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), who came to Mississippi as a young lawyer, brave, courageous, to work during the summer of 1964 with those of us in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her kind remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me this time.

At the time that I was in Mississippi, the gentleman was Chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. And while in 1964, I guess I had become a lawyer because I had graduated, I first came to Mississippi in 1963 in order to prepare for the summer of 1964 when students would come to the South and help the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to register African Americans to vote in large numbers in the South.

The gentleman from Georgia and our Southern colleagues in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee had, in fact, essentially opened up much of the Southeast and they wanted to tackle Mississippi, the hardest territory in the civil rights struggle. In the summer of 1963, we experimented with freedom schools, which is what we were about doing in 1964. We were going to bring African Americans, the sharecroppers out of the cotton fields, talk about how they should prepare themselves to pass the test, and try to register people.

The summer of 1964 was a summer of both heartbreak and hope because no sooner had the students arrived than we lost three of them in one of the worst atrocities in the entire history of our country in Philadelphia, Mississippi, an unforgettable sacrifice of three young people, one a native of Mississippi, the other two from the North who had simply come to peacefully register people.

We must not forget the summer of 1964, because while it was the summer of great sacrifice, it was also the summer when, in fact, at the Democratic National Convention, we broke the notion that delegations to political conventions could be discriminatory. It was the summer when we were passing the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Indeed, a bill on suspension to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act will be on the floor.

But it is important for us not to forget how we got to these great landmarks, particularly the civil rights legislation. We got to them through a lot of sacrifice, some sacrifice by very young people who helped our country reach one of its greatest aspirations, and that is that everybody should be treated the same way and have the right to vote.

We remember Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner today for the tragedy, to be sure, but for the way in which their sacrifice reminded people that we could overcome this greatest flaw in our democracy. We are still in the process of overcoming. But we will have a much better chance of achieving a more perfect society with racial discrimination gone if we remember the sacrifices of such Americans as these very young men, Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner.