Bowers, Samuel Holloway b. August 6, 1924 d. November 5, 2006 Criminal. As Imperial Wizard of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, he ordered the murders of civil rights workers James Cheney, Mickey Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, which took place in June 1964 in Neshoba County, Mississippi - a case that became known as the "Mississippi Burning" case. He was convicted of civil rights violations and spent six years in federal prison until his release in 1970. In 1998 he was convicted in Mississippi for the murder of civil rights activist Vernon Dahmer, who...[Read More] (Bio by: Erik Lander) Mississippi State Prison Cemetery, Parchman, Sunflower County, Mississippi, USA
Hamer, Fannie Lou b. October 6, 1917 d. March 14, 1977 Social Reformer. Dedicated and courageous civil rights activist. She was born in Sunflower County, Mississippi, being the youngest of twenty children and the granddaughter of a slave. After attending a meeting and hearing the Reverend James Bevel and James Forman speak, she became involved in the Civil Rights movement, particularly voter-registration. Her activities caused her family the loss of their home, and she was arrested, threatened, and beaten on more than one occasion. In 1963 she was...[Read More] (Bio by: Warrick L. Barrett) Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden, Ruleville, Sunflower County, Mississippi, USA
Patton, Charley b. April, 1891 d. April 28, 1934 Musician. Born in Edwards, Mississippi, he was a influential guitarist and performer from the earliest days of the Delta Blues. He is credited with creating an enduring body of American music such as the classic standards "Pony Blues", "Mississippi Boll Weevil Blues", "A Spoonful Blues", "Banty Rooster Blues" and "Down The Dirt Road". He died of heart disease on a plantation near Indianola, Mississippi. In 1990, musician John Fogerty bought Patton's grave marker. In 2003, his re-mastered boxed...[Read More] (Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith) Cause of death: Heart ailment Holly Ridge Cemetery, Holly Ridge, Sunflower County, Mississippi, USA
b. August 6, 1924 d. November 5, 2006
