Warner Observes Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Kirschenbaum shares his experiences as a civil rights worker in the 1960s

For some young people today, the civil rights movement of the 1960s is an event that occurred in another time and place, and is reflected upon during special occasions like Martin Luther King, Jr. Day or Election Day. But for Howard Kirschenbaum, chair of the counseling and human development program at the Warner School, the events are part of his personal history. In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Kirschenbaum spoke to a group of faculty, students, alumni and friends about his experiences as a civil rights worker while taking part in the Mississippi Freedom Summer project.

In 1964, at the age of 19, Kirschenbaum traveled from suburban Long Island to Moss Point, Miss., to join 700 other college students helping black Americans register to vote. At the time, there were over 400,000 eligible black voters in Mississippi, and only 6.7% of them were registered. And still only half of those registered actually voted. Yes, black citizens had the legal right to vote, but fear often kept them from doing so. Their fear was justified!

Though black voters were being terrorized, there was little to no media attention and no support from Washington. "Mississippi Freedom Summer" was organized to change this. "What if white civil rights workers were jailed, beaten, or even murdered because they believed in democracy? Maybe the country would take notice then," explains Kirschenbaum.

While quick to point out that the dangers faced by him and other civil rights workers were far less than those faced by the black citizens of Mississippi, it was dangerous work. Three others involved in the project--Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney--were murdered as a result of a conspiracy between elements of law enforcement and the Ku Klux Klan. And Kirschenbaum himself was arrested and jailed.

Kirschenbaum spoke emotionally about his time in Moss Point, as well as in Selma, Ala. where he was witness to further civil rights struggles in 1965. Photographs from his personal album were also shared. "I haven't been able to reduce the experience to a simple moral," he says. But in terms of race relations, he believes "there is a necessity for continued, meaningful contact with one another."

Guests were invited to share their own thoughts and experiences about race relations and civil rights, and a lively discussion ensued. "The fight isn't over," one member of the audience said. "Today in Rochester there was a reenactment of the historic civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery…But we don't need a reenactment of a civil rights march…We need a real march."

View photos from Kirschenbaum's personal album.

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