Return to Mississippi 2005
Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016; 202-808-4980
Produced by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Director n/a
VHS, color, 60 min.
Jr. High - Adult
History, African American Studies
Date Entered: 04/21/2006
Reviewed by Chuck McCann, Florida State University LibrariesThis is a story of the murder of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner and how this heartbreaking event put Mississippi in the center of the American Civil Rights Movement. The video follows various narrators; newspaper editors, authors, civil rights leaders, and others to tell the story thus giving the footage some fair diversity of opinion. The video also covers some of the trial of Edgar Ray Killen who was finally found guilty in 2005, of three charges of manslaughter for getting together the men who carried out the murders. To some extent the video paints a fair picture of where Mississippi is today – particularly in more rural regions. Candid video taping of present-day individuals and local events in Neshoba County draws input from many viewpoints. The video also uses appropriate and sometime rare historical civil rights footage. Particularly interesting was the footage of the harsh training that civil rights worker went through to prepare themselves for their missions. This video is recommended for collections in History and Africa-American Studies.