Newswise — An historical injustice was righted three years ago when the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation joined residents of Neshoba County, Miss., to create the Philadelphia Coalition that pushed for the prosecution and conviction of the man who murdered three civil rights workers in 1964.
But the University of Mississippi institute, the first of its kind in the nation, did not stop there.
Since the conviction of Edgar Ray Killen in 2005, the institute has continued to promote the legacy established by its namesake, former Gov. William Winter, whose work on race relations has garnered the Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement. Winter is to receive the award Monday (May 12) from another organization bearing the name of a man equally committed to equality " the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.
"We have an opportunity now to settle once and for all the issue of race," Winter said. "What could be more important than to create a society where our children will not be torn apart emotionally or physically over issues of race?"
That message has been the focus of the institute, led by director Susan Glisson, since its inception, said Fent DeWeese, vice chair of the Philadelphia Coalition, a multiracial community organization committed to the promotion of civil rights education and community action.
The Philadelphia Coalition was a major player in seeking justice for the murders of Michael Schwerner, 24, James Chaney, 21, and Andrew Goodman, 20. DeWeese said the trial and the coalition itself would not have been possible without the institute's support.
"Even before the Killen trial, the institute was invaluable in facilitating the organization and maintenance of the many diverse interests represented on the coalition," he said. "You had 30 people from really diverse backgrounds, so it took awhile to get on solid ground. I think if it hadn't been for Susan and her staff, we couldn't have done it. It would have been impossible."
Although the coalition was established for the primary purpose of seeking justice in the triple murder, its mission has shifted to education and historical preservation. The coalition and institute realized another goal in 2006, when the Mississippi Legislature passed a law requiring civil rights education in the state's public schools, and another law has been passed designating a state highway near Philadelphia as the Goodman/Schwerner/Chaney Memorial Highway.
"None of that could have been done without Susan and the institute," DeWeese said.
Betty Pearson, vice chair of the Emmett Till Memorial Commission in Tallahatchie County, said their organization would not exist without the institute. The commission " named for a 14-year-old Chicago native who was murdered in Money, Miss., in 1955 " is pushing for the creation of a civil rights museum in the Tallahatchie County Courthouse.
"The institute is absolutely essential," she said. "I have been more than impressed not only with Susan but also with the program they have for student interns. You can tell those students are helping because they want to and not because they have to."
Pearson said that the commission's progress, which includes designation of the Emmett Till Memorial Highway, goes beyond the physical projects.
"I've lived in Tallahatchie County for 60 years, and this is the first time I've seen adults " both black and white " sitting on an even basis and talking openly about common problems and needs," she said. "It is happening, and it's needed to happen for a long, long time. So, regardless of what happened with the courthouse, what we have done so far in getting people together has made a tremendous difference."
The work to restore the Tallahatchie County Courthouse is just one of numerous projects in which the institute is involved. The organization is working on the renovation of the Lil' Red Schoolhouse in Drew, Miss., funded by Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington in the early 1920s and '30s to educate rural black children. It is among only 11 Rosenwald structures still standing in Mississippi " more than 600 were built " and will be used as headquarters for the local Boys and Girls Club once restored.
The institute also has launched three major efforts to promote honest conversations about race, Glisson said. The Mississippi Truth Project is uncovering forgotten civil rights stories and bringing them the attention they deserve. The Alliance for Truth and Racial Reconciliation is a regional coalition of organizations across the South that organize curriculum development, prosecutions and truth commissions in areas of past racial violence. A major conference about the group's work is being planned for 2009 in Atlanta. Also, the Welcome Table: A Year of Dialogue on Race is a program that provides training to community leaders to engage in difficult local conversations that pave the way for substantive community action. It is co-sponsored by the Fetzer Institute and the Kellogg Foundation.
The institute's overall efforts are funded by private gifts, including a $1.25 million grant from the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation of Jackson, Glisson said.
"The Hearin grant represents the basis on which we will be able to move ahead to accomplish the very important mission that has been given us," Winter said. "These resources enable us to get into communities in this region and be a catalyst for bringing people together to break down the barriers that have separated us."
As it moves forward, the institute will continue to focus on community-based solutions to racism, Glisson said. For example, after Hurricane Katrina, it fostered a group to address issues such as affordable housing, civil rights and the storm's economic impact. Because racial violence continues to be a problem, the institute also is active in two youth-focused initiatives: civil rights-civil liberties clubs in high schools and One Mississippi programs in colleges and universities.
"The CR-CL groups started as an after-school program when I was a public high school teacher in Jackson," said Dave Molina, Winter Institute project coordinator. "Basically, we've created a space where students can discuss issues that they aren't at liberty to discuss during the regular school day."It appears the institute's ongoing effort to bring race relations to the forefront is having an impact. A 2008 poll by the Godwin Group in Jackson indicates 70 percent of Mississippians believe race relations are better than in the past.
"The work we are doing stands on the foundation of those before us, and we are forging the future for those to come," Glisson said.
The university will show international media the Mississippi of today, when it hosts the first presidential debate of the 2008 campaign September 26. The event is to be broadcast live from the Ford Center for the Performing Arts and covered by an estimated 3,000 journalists from all over the world.
For more information about the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and its programs, contact Glisson at 662-915-6734 or visit http://www.olemiss.edu/winterinstitute. For more information about the presidential debate at Ole Miss, visit http://debate.olemiss.edu.
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