Press Releases

Thompson Issues Statement on James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner Medal of Freedom

WASHINGTON, DC  – Today, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02) issued the following statement regarding his attendance at today’s Presidential Medal of Freedom presentation:

“I commend President Obama for honoring the contribution that James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner made to our nation,” said Thompson. “Though no amount of recognition can ever repay these three young men for their sacrifice, I am proud that their legacy will continue to live on through our nation’s highest civilian honor.  While the deaths of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner became one of the more infamous tragedies of the civil rights era, we should take this day to remember the countless others who also lost their lives at the hands of racism and bigotry.”

On May 29, 2014, Congressman Thompson and members of the Congressional Black Caucus wrote President Obama requesting the Presidential Medal of Freedom be bestowed posthumously to James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner. In 2010, Thompson successfully shepherded legislation through Congress to name the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s division headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi, after the activists along with FBI agent Roy K. Moore, who headed the investigation into the trio’s disappearance.