Update 4/28Day 4 & 5 Updates are online:http://alabamaatheist.org/fw2k8/ Photos from Day 4:http://thenafa.org/photos/v/20080426/UPDATE Check out the story herehttp://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20080424/NEWS/837335816/1016/NEWS
Bookmark this thread — Ellen will be updating us as she completed the journey here on the NoGodBlog.
Bill Moore announcement My name is Ellen Johnson and on April 23, 2008 I am going on a journey to rewrite history and get some justice for the many Freedom Walkers who were prevented from delivering a letter for racial harmony in 1963. The story began in 1963 with an Atheist named Bill Moore. He was a civil rights activist, author, marine corporal, and graduate from Johns Hopkins University. Bill was a member of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality and SNCC the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In 1962 the governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnet refused to allow James Meredith, a black man, to attend the University of Mississippi. It was then that Bill Moore decided to try, in his own small way to bring racial harmony to our nation. He wanted to see his home state of Mississippi do the right thing towards blacks. He decided that he was going to hand deliver a letter to Governor Barnett asking him to reconsider his position on segregation. He was going to carry the letter from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi. It was a freedom walk. The letter read:
Dear Governor Barnett: I have always had a warm place in my heart for Mississippi, the land of my childhood and my ancestors. I dislike the reputation this state has acquired as being the most backward and most bigoted in the land. Those who truly love Mississippi must work to change this image. Frankly, I do not know which is worse – to be raised to believe that one should be happy to live in poverty and die twice as fast as the white man and to be told to reject the ideas of those who tell you democracy means the right to vote whatever the color of one?s skin; or is it worse to be raised as members of a sort of ?master race? which fights a losing battle to preserve injustice with barbaric laws and police state methods. The British were wise in that they dissolved their empire before they were forced to do so. Consequently, the governments of countries such as India and Nigeria are stable and friendly and democratic. The French, on the other hand, held onto their empire as long as they could. Thus the bitter strife in Laos, Vietnam, Algeria. The end of Mississippi colonialism is fast approaching. The only question is whether you will help it to end in a friendship like the British, or try to hold onto what is already lost, creating bitterness and hatred, as did the French. For our sake, as well as the Negro?s, I hope you will decide to try the British way. The white man cannot be truly free himself until all men have their rights. Each is dependent upon the other. Do not go down in infamy as one who fought democracy for all, which you have not the power to prevent. Be gracious. Give more than is immediately demanded of you. Make certain that when the Negro gets his rights and his vote that he does not in the process learn to treat the white man with the contempt and disdain that, unfortunately, some of us now treat him.Sincerely,William L. Moore
Bill Moore used his two-week vacation from his job as a postal worker in Baltimore, Maryland and began his walk. He planned to walk 40 miles a day for ten days. He made a sandwich board sign for the walk – in the home of Madalyn O?Hair, who he supported in her Supreme Court case in 1963 called Murray v. Curlett. The front of the sign read: End Segregation In America. Eat At Joe?s – Both Black and White. The back read: Equal Rights For All(Mississippi or Bust) Bill began his walk from Chattanooga, Tennessee on April 21, 1963. Along the way, he was greeted by both friend and foe. Two days later on April 23, a motorist found Moore?s body. He had been shot twice in the head at close range with a .22 caliber rifle. The gun?s ownership was traced to Floyd Simpson, whom Moore had argued with earlier that day. Simpson was never indicted. Bill Moore was murdered because of his Atheism and his politics. A week later ten more Freedom Walkers, both black and white, attempted to finish Bill?s walk. They never made it. They were stopped at the border of Alabama and they were beaten and jailed. They languished in jail for months. They were sentenced to death and fed muffins with crushed glass inside. Four other attempts, involving hundreds of people were made and all were thwarted by the segregationists in Alabama and Mississippi. On August 3, 1963, the fifth and final attempt was made to complete Bill Moore?s walk from Gadsden, Alabama. Six hundred and eighty-two people were arrested attempting to finish the walk of a man they never even knew. Forty-five years later it is time to deliver that letter. Bill Moore did not die in vain. The Freedom Walkers (Sam Shirah, Winston Lockett, Bill Haley, Zev Aelony, Chico Neblett, Bill Hansen, Bob Zellner, Eric Weinberger and Robert Gore to name few) attempts to deliver the letter and their subsequent punishments must not have been in vain. On April 23 I will be in Attala, Alabama where Bill Moore was murdered and I?m going to finish his walk and deliver his letter to the governor of Mississippi. Then the history books will show that the Freedom Walkers were not defeated and that the letter was delivered. It may have been delivered 45 years later, but it was delivered. Thank-you,Ellen Johnson, PresidentAmerican Atheists908-276-7300
Hmmm. I wrote a response to you alatham, but it apparently got lost in the ether.
Anywho, the long and short of it was thanks for the links, I stand corrected on the martyrdom issue. Moore was indeed naive. There was more, but I don’t feel like retyping it all now.
Phreedm:
Not even in the ballpark; focus on the litis.
I won’t feed you anymore. LOL!!!
Wow… I’m exhausted today and I only walked 5 of the 22 miles yesterday with Ellen and Ken.
In addition, other volunteers that showed up to help walk the first day were Mark, Kelly, Yvonne, and Bart.
We had a wonderful time and I hope everyone else is looking forward to the updates as much as I am.
I will try to join the walkers again on Saturday.
Ellen is clearly twisting facts in an attempt to use the tragic death of an individual for her own agenda…
http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20080424/NEWS/837335816/1016/NEWS
But then again….every organization needs a poster child to raise funds…
Oh come on! Moore’s murder had NOTHING to do with atheism or his supposedly being an atheist. Moore was killed by a Klansman whom he was arguing earlier in the day about racial equality. Yeah, sure…a man’s carrying signs about desegragation, argues with a Klansman who then later kills him, and 40yrs later we’re going to try and say it was because he was an Athiest that he was killed? That’s absurd.
I think trying to link this man’s death at the hands of a Klansman to be because he was an Atheist is disengenuous. It smacks of a self-serving publicity stunt on the coat tails of a man murdered for his part in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s.
Finishing the walk as part of a noble gesture on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement is one thing, doing it to try and fabricate the reason of this man’s death to be because he was an ahteist or that his death was in part due to his being an athiest is just….wrong. It’s wrong on soo many levels.
I can tell you this…if Ellen goes around spouting such nonsense she’s going to make us Atheists look a ridiculous lot. As you can tell, I’m not happy with this stunt.
diane,
You should read Hugo’s post up above and the accompanying link.
There’s a good reason to believe that his atheism was part of the reason he was murdered, but in the end any argument boils down to mere speculation since the murderer isn’t confessing, even yours.
Hi,
Thanks for all of your posts. I haven’t read them all but I will. Yesterday a reporter took usto the actual place where they found the body of Bill Moore. That was very emotional for me. We began the walk at that very spot. There were 7 of us. Two were driving behind in cars. It was very hot and very humid. I quickly learned what happens if you don’t drink enough water.
We did 20 miles the first day. Sometimes we went in the car and some of the time we walked. Today it was just me and Ken Loukinen who are going to finish the walk. A generous person from the Alabama Freethought Association is paying for a rental car for us for two weeks! Ken and I take turns walking because one of us has to drive the car. So we do about 5 miles and switch.
It wasn’t as hot today. That helped. We did 23 miles. Your words of support help more than you can imagine.
I will do a better job of reporting on the walk in a day or two. It is very late now and I have to get some sleep for tomorrow. We desperately need money to pay for our hotel rooms, food and gas. Please help if you can.
The locals are very pleased with this walk and they support us.
We plan to be in Jackson on Tuesday, May 6.
Mississippi or Bust!
Ellen
Photos from Day 1 of the Freedom Walk 2K8…
http://thenafa.org/photos/v/20080423/
Feel free to distribute as you see fit. Videos to come. If you would like the full size 3000 pixel pictures, please let me know
Blair Scott, American Atheists [alabamaatheist@gmail.com]
Seeker
Too funny!
Can we ever truly know why Bill was killed until the killer tells us? It very well could have been something totally unrelated to race or his religious view, unlikely, but possible. What we did know is the Bill supported EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL. I don’t think he meant only blacks.
What is the purpose of American Atheists? Is it not to combat discrimination of atheists? If you think atheists are not treated as fairly as any other American (refer to the Univ. of Minn. study) then this walk has every bit as much to do with atheism as it does racial discrimination, or any discrimination for any reason.
Way to go, Ellen! It sounds like you’re off to a good start. I hope you brought some rain gear, it looks like there might be some thunderstorms coming late today or tomorrow. (Be sure to listen for thunderstorm and tornado warnings for the county you’re walking through! This is the south, and they can be doozies!) The weather the next few days after that should be quite a bit cooler
I hope to come down sometime next week to cheer you on, and I’ll be sure to bring cash!!
Aaron S.
AO, NAFA
http://thenafa.org/
Dave or Ellen, how can we send money specifically to help with expenses for the walk?
Jeff,
All donations are always appreciated. Simply donate via the web site http://www.atheists.org and click the Paypal button. As of now, it doesn’t let you dedicate your donation to a specific activity, but it all goes to where it is most needed.
Dave – will do.
I will send X dollars and 23 cents. The 23 cents is to signify that the donation was inspired by the walk.
Hi Everyone,
We took a break from the heat and humidity and will be going back out around 4pm.
In the book “Freedom Walk, Mississippi or Bust” Mary Stanton explained why Bill was killed for his politics and Atheism.
But aside from that, we want to pay tribute to an Atheist who gave his life for civil rights. Most people associate the civil rights movement with the religious. I think that Bill Moore should be remembered along with Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman.
AA’s board of directors wants me to pay my own expenses for this trip so any donations would have to be made out to me. Your donations are really appreciated.
As for Governor Barbour, I think that the pressure will be on him to accept the letter if any of the original Freedom Walkers who tried to finish Bill’s walk are there to hand the letter over. It would be truly an embarrassment if they stand there outside the governor’s mansion and the governor won’t come out.
I’m trying to find money to pay for their trip. Three of the first ten are still alive. Two of the other surviving first ten are out of the country. Bob Zellner says he can’t afford to go to Jackson. I’m trying to find money to get them there.
By the way, Ken Loukinen deserves a lot of thanks. He is a tireless walker.
Regards,
Ellen
Blair Scott, our illustrious AL State Director, has posted a page with details about the walk, including photos.
http://www.alabamaatheist.org/freedomwalk2k8.html
Enjoy!
Aaron S.
AO, NAFA
http://thenafa.org/
Thanks for posting that info Aaron!
I’ve updated that Web Page so it’s easier to navigate to. The old link will automatically redirect people, but the new link is:
http://alabamaatheist.org/fw2k8/
Thanks to Malina, Donte, and Tayva for supporting the Freedom Walkers today with a sign in Birmingham.
That’s right… they made it safely to Birmingham, Alabama.
I will be bringing my family down tomorrow to walk the 20 miles through downtown Birmingham and into Hoover, Alabama.
Blair Scott
Alabama State Director
Check out some of the sick comments on the Gadsden Times forum.
http://community.gadsdentimes.com/groupee/forums?a=dl&f=3291074365&s=6621061365&x_id=837335816&x_subject=&x_link=http://www.gadsdentimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080424/NEWS/837335816
Be careful in Birmingham, Ellen. The city is afflicted with a religiously insane mayor, who recently declared a day of prayer in sackcloth and ashes. (They cheated though, and put the sackcloths over their nice dress clothes for the cameras.)
From the mayor’s proclamation:
This dunderhead can’t even spell, or doesn’t know the difference between pails/pales and per capita/ per capital- whatever that means!(Murder by upper case letter?) You’d think for an official proclamation, he’d have someone proof it for him.
For the story, see pharyngula’s blog:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/04/you_have_my_sympathies
_birming.php#more
If one wants to send Ellen some money to help fund the walk where would one send the money. Simply to AA?
Too cool! Thanks for doing this awesome endeavor. With good speed and good luck, I hope your days pass with great meaning and without ill event.
I became a big Bill Moore fan after reading about his life and death in Taylor Branch’s Pulitzer Prize winning Parting The Waters. I was pleasantly surprised to see an article about him in this month’s American Atheist Magazine. But I did find it alarming to read these words from Mary Stanton, the author of the piece: “Walking through the Deep South to reinforce this message was risky, but the mailman lost his life not because he believed in integration, but because he did not believe in God.” There is absolutely no proof to that statement. Likewise to Ellen Johnson’s statement in this blog: “Bill Moore was murdered because of his Atheism and his politics.” I say three cheers to the marchers, and I wish I could have been there to join them on such a wonderful walk in memory of a great man. But let us not put ourselves in a position of throwing out unsubstantiated remarks like we always accuse the religious folk of doing.