Who Pelham can honor in the wake of George Floyd
Since George Floyd’s tragic death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, many Pelham residents have tried hard to express the town’s opposition to systemic racism and police misconduct. An inspiring, genuine way for Pelham to make a stand is to memorialize a true, Pelham-raised civil rights hero: The activist, martyr, and posthumous winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Michael Henry Schwerner.
While Schwerner’s name is fairly recognizable to Pelham residents, his story is rarely told in full.
He was raised in Pelham and attended Pelham Memorial High School in the 1950s; his mother was a teacher at New Rochelle High School, and his eventual wife was raised in Mount Vernon. After attending Cornell University, he led a Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) group in downtown Manhattan, but eventually left his home state with his wife to protest racial segregation at another CORE branch in Mississippi. Tracked by racially-motivated local government agents and members of the Ku Klux Klan at every moment, Schwerner and his wife Rita were forced to stay alert for months on end to avoid being killed for their efforts. Despite the target on his back, Schwerner did not stop fighting throughout the 60s. Until his final sacrifice in 1964, he led the CORE team based in Meridian, Mississippi, where he organized protests, registered black Americans to vote in the Freedom Summer, and even went door-to-door to personally convince working class whites to oppose racial inequality.
While Michael Schwerner’s efforts did not go unnoticed when he was living, his murder at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan made him a nationwide symbol for civil rights. On June 21, 1964, Schwerner, alongside other civil rights activists James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, was shot and killed by KKK members after being released from jail due to an alleged “traffic violation”. The incident was given nationwide attention, as it involved two white civil rights workers, Goodman and Schwerner, being murdered alongside Chaney, a black civil rights worker. The publicity behind this act of violence and its crossing of racial boundaries led to the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, and helped to unify the nation in opposition to systemic racism in the South. So, too, can Michael Schwerner’s sacrifice act as a unifying gesture against racism for Pelham in 2020.
Still, Schwerner’s sacrifice in the Civil Rights Movement was not alone. Every February, PMHS classrooms celebrate black activists like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. However, in our repetitive “Civil Rights Unit” curriculum, there are many black civil rights figures that are often unfairly neglected; Ella Baker, Asa Philip Randolph, Howard Thurman, and many more come to mind. Even while celebrating the honorable sacrifice of Mr. Schwerner, it is vital to amplify black voices in the fight for equality as well.
Pelham has made efforts to memorialize Michael Schwerner in the past, but they have never been in a manner as fully realized as he deserves. In 2008, part of Harmon Ave was renamed “Michael Schwerner Way” in his honor. Additionally, there is a bust of Mr. Schwerner tucked away in a trophy case in Alumni Hall at PMHS, his alma mater; disappointingly, this statuette often goes unnoticed. These gestures, while well-intentioned, don’t serve to memorialize Mr. Schwerner enough in the Pelham community, especially now that the long overdue conversation of race in America is being brought up yet again in 2020.
The greatest recognition of Schwerner’s efforts did not come from Pelham at all; instead, it came from President Barack Obama in 2014, when Schwerner was posthumously given the Presidential Medal of Freedom for Activism, alongside James Chaney and Andrew Goodman. Schwerner is just one of just 45 people to receive this award, a list which includes household names like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Helen Keller, Jesse Jackson, and Andrew Young, among others. Schwerner’s sacrifice has been recognized more on a national level than a local one; to memorialize his sacrifice and truly show what Pelham residents are capable of in the fight for equality, this should change.
The inscription above the stage of the PMHS auditorium reads “Honor Here the Ideals for Which They Fought”. Michael Schwerner fought for his ideals, and paid the ultimate price for his actions. He is an example of Pelham’s finest, and needs a more formal and public recognition in the community.
Tommy Roche is a student at Boston College. During the 2020-2021 school year, he was the Managing Editor/News of the Examiner, primarily covering general...
Carolyn Louise Noble • Jun 23, 2020 at 6:03 pm
A slight correction. Edith Barrow was an English artist who lived from 1865 to 1930.
Dame Nita Barrow was the Barbadian Ambassador to the UN from 1986-1990 and resided in Pelham at the Barbadian Embassy . She was one of 8 , and the only woman, who served in the Eminent Persons Group in South Africa that negotiated Nelson Mandela’s release from prison.
Nya Haseley-Ayende • Jun 23, 2020 at 12:51 am
Hi, I wanted to voice my opinions on the memorial account and this examiner post. Please read and reflect in full and with thought. Obviously, Schwerner was a great person for being a civil rights activist. However, I believe bringing him up at this time is highly inappropriate. It just doesn’t make sense to be developing additional praise around a white man in a time where Black voices need to be amplified and the funds (that is suggested should be collected in his honor) can go somewhere better. This community should not be looking to another white man in Pelham who looks like them to be inspired by the cause. There are Black people everywhere who have been silenced and we need now more than ever to have our voices heard. If there is even a Black figure that worked alongside Schwerner (James Earl Chaney), why are we not discussing him and the millions of other Black figures that have fought for their own freedom Throughout the country, state, and even county there have been Black Americans that have been and continue to fight for civil rights. If you are focusing on Schwerner just because he is from Pelham, I find this wrong, as it adds to the ignorance of this town to do their own research and educate themselves on other Black figures. It’s not doing anything useful for BLM as it takes away from Black voices and diminishes people from looking to new leaders that are currently doing the work in the movement, it’s just people looking for another white figure to inspire people in Pelham. The movement is supposed to be focusing on Black people and their experiences, and putting more white people in the spotlight does nothing useful so I do not believe bringing awareness to him is right at all at this moment. I would also like to make a comparison to saying “all lives matter” in a way where people are trying to victimize another white person (even if they supported civil rights) in a time where Black voices are meant to be heard. I would love to hear back from you and continue this conversation, perhaps through another forum if possible.
B Haseley • Jun 22, 2020 at 11:29 pm
It’s so interesting that Pelham would decide to commemorate a white civil rights activist during a time where Black people and their allies are fighting for their freedom and speaking out against the erasure they feel in this country. As a town that is majority white and contains all white leadership, it is true a shame that Pelham in contributing to the erasure of Black experiences in the town. This is not the kind of allyship I’d expect from a community that prides itself on inclusion and being highly educated. Please do better Pelham.
marilyn hoyt • Jun 22, 2020 at 9:14 pm
Schwerner is a great idea. But he is not alone. Here’s a more recent Pelham citizen who made a HUGE difference with the end of apartheid while living in Pelham. Here’s a note from Michelle Morris who grew up and graduated from Pelham HS in the 90’s. She is quoting another Pelham friend here:
” Dame Edith Barrow of Pelham infiltrated the Apartheid South African Government. Personally disguising herself and infiltrating behind military confines and was helping coordinate the freeing of Nelson Mandela. All while representing her Country of Barbados as the Ambassador. Yes, this bow legged, waddling Black Woman snuck into a Military Confine to talk to the people and evaluate the dire need for change all while being a world leader. Her story shows that it’s going to take more than protest and riots to change. It’s going to take bravery, precision, calculation, determination and will. I also believe that we will need the help of other world leaders that are as Brave as Her.”
This woman lived IN PELHAM! She was planning missions to free Mandela IN PELHAM! All while we were running around on her lawn playing wiffle ball on her lawn. There should be, at minimum, a Pelham library named after her. Or better yet, a monument! The Harriet Tubman of Pelham.
Marin Zielinski • Jun 22, 2020 at 7:16 pm
Each year, the Pelham Democratic Committee awards a scholarship to a local high school senior in honor of Michael Schwerner. Students applying for the scholarship submit an essay detailing the important social issues they believe we face, and must demonstrate a record of activism. This year’s recipient was Julia O’Neil, but it’s always hard to choose–all the young people who apply are inspiring. The scholarship is a wonderful way to remember Michael Schwerner and to honor local teens doing good work. Details on applying for next year’s scholarship are available through the high school or by emailing [email protected].
Doris Jerome • Jun 22, 2020 at 12:36 pm
Mickey Schwerner is also recognized with a brass plaque hanging beside the doorway to the auditorium at the top of the main staircase of Pelham Memorial High School.