Rita Schwerner Bender facts for kids
Rita Schwerner Bender (born in 1942) is an American civil rights activist and a lawyer. She and her first husband, Michael Schwerner, took part in the Freedom Summer project in 1964. During this time, Michael was tragically killed by the Ku Klux Klan. As a young widow, Rita spoke out about unfair treatment based on race in the United States. Her words at a press conference, after her husband disappeared, gained national attention. After the Civil Rights Movement, Rita became a lawyer. She practiced family law in Washington state. Today, she continues to work for civil rights through her law practice and by giving public talks.
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Early Life and Marriage
Rita Schwerner and her husband Michael both grew up in New York. They got married when Rita was 20 years old and Michael was 22.
Her Work for Civil Rights
The Schwerners first became involved in the civil rights movement in the northern United States. Both Rita and Michael were arrested at a civil rights protest in Baltimore in July 1963.
Freedom Summer and a Tragic Event
In January 1964, the Schwerners moved to Meridian, Mississippi. Rita worked as a teacher. Both she and Michael helped at a freedom school and worked to register Black voters. The summer of 1964 was called "Freedom Summer." It was a big effort to help more Black people register to vote in the southern states. Groups like the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) led this important work.
Rita and Michael Schwerner were among 300 students who went to Mississippi to help with the voting campaign. They were 22 and 24 years old at the time. In June 1964, the Schwerners were at a civil rights training in Ohio. They learned that a church in Neshoba County, Mississippi, which was part of the movement, had been burned. Its leaders had also been beaten. Michael Schwerner, James Chaney (who was Black), and Andrew Goodman (who was white, like the Schwerners) drove back to Mississippi. They went to investigate what happened to the church.
On Sunday, June 21, the three men were driving together. They were stopped by a local deputy sheriff named Cecil Price near the town of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Price arrested the three men for speeding. He locked them in jail but released them around 10 p.m. that night. The men were never seen again after that.
Rita Schwerner was still in Ohio when she heard they had disappeared. Two days later, at the Cincinnati airport, she learned their car had been found burned in a swamp. She returned to Mississippi. For her safety, she stayed at a hotel owned by Black people. Guards organized by Black ministers watched outside.
Rita spoke out strongly, urging President Johnson to increase the government's efforts to find them. News channels across the country covered the story. The FBI put up posters everywhere, asking for information about the three men.
During this difficult time, Rita Schwerner was interviewed by the media. She said it was sad that white people from the North had to face unfairness in the South. She believed that if James Chaney, a Black man from Mississippi, had been alone, his disappearance might not have received national attention.
Later, it was found that Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman had been killed by the Ku Klux Klan. Sheriff Price was connected to the Klan and had been involved in the killings. Three years later, Price was found guilty in connection with the deaths and was sent to prison for six years. He passed away in 2001. Even though other Klan members were involved, only six of them were found guilty along with Price.
The Edgar Ray Killen Case
In 2005, 41 years after the deaths of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, a man named Edgar Ray Killen was found guilty. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Rita testified in court. After the decision, she said that the conviction was important. She felt that Killen should have been found guilty of murder. She noted that the jury could not agree on a murder conviction. This showed that some people still chose to ignore the truth.
Continuing Civil Rights Work
After her husband's death, Rita Schwerner stayed in Mississippi. She kept working for civil rights with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. She helped challenge the all-white group of delegates from Mississippi at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City. Delegates used borrowed passes to walk onto the convention floor. Guards removed them, but this action inspired many Black people in Mississippi. Rita Schwerner spoke to the committee that checked the delegates' credentials. Members of the Freedom Democratic Party stood silently with her.
Education and Law Career
Rita Schwerner earned her first college degree at Queens College in New York. She then decided to study law. She attended Rutgers School of Law in New Jersey in 1965. She graduated three years after her husband was killed. In her graduating class of 150 students in 1968, Rita was one of only five women.
While studying at Rutgers, she also met her second husband, William J. Bender.
Law Practice and Advocacy
Rita Schwerner Bender is a private family law attorney in Washington State. She specializes in family law, adoption, and assisted reproduction. She also helps people who cannot afford legal help get access to it.
Bender continues to be active in the fight for civil rights. She gives talks on topics like "Searching for Restorative Justice: The Trial of Edgar Ray Killen" and "Racial Disparity in Education and State Action." She has also written several articles about her areas of law practice.
