Philadelphia, Miss., the town infamous for the murder of three civil rights workers in the summer of 1964, has elected its first African American mayor.
James Young, 53 year-old Pentecostal minister, was elected to lead the town of 7,300 people, about 40 percent of whom are black. The town was depicted in the movie, “Mississippi Burning.”
“Philadelphia has some of the worst history and now some of the best,” Young said after declaring victory. “This is a reversal of some of the views that have been dominant in the community. There was a time when this could not have happened. Now it is accepted by everyone. There’s not a major riot in the streets because I’m black.”
The 1964 murders of the three civil rights workers – an African-American man from Mississippi and two white New Yorkers, all in their twenties – shocked the country not only because of the crime but because of the complicity of local officials in the killing and cover up.
Click here to read more.
