JCD (a new MMW contributor!)
Today, the Senate issued an apology to the descendants of lynching victims, including James Cameron, 91, the oldest known living survivor of an attempted lynching in the U.S.; Simeon Wright, the cousin of Emmett Till; and Doria Lee Johnson, the great-granddaughter of Andrew Crawford. The Senate resolution is sponsored by Senators Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana), and George Allen (R-Virginia).

“There have been close to 5,000 lynchings in America, and it is, I think, a form of American terrorism that we must address,” Mrs. Landrieu said. “This is the final chapter on this piece of history.” She said she was inspired to draft the apology by the book “Without Sanctuary,” which depicts in pictures and words the history of lynchings in America.

Anti-lynching legislation was first introduced in Congress 104 years ago but fell victim to numerous Senate filibusters. Nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in the first half of the 20th century.

In related news, jury selection began today for the 1964 slayings of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Reputed Ku Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen watched from a wheelchair as jury selection began in his murder trial.

The slayings of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner - three young men who were helping register blacks during the “Freedom Summer” of 1964 - galvanized the civil rights movement and helped win passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The case was dramatized in the 1988 movie “Mississippi Burning.”