Unc
cio
• • • B11I'DiDg' peri • remarbble
fea in recreating the terror, violence and
brutality that were so much a part of that in the
1960's. Where we fiDd fault with the film, and
our reservations about its intriasic merit are
serious iDdeed, is in the cavalier manner it treats
the • • that brought death toJ 0wIey,
MidIacl ScIlwemer and Andrew Goodman· its
total iporing of the brave men aDd mea, both
black and white, who resked �eir lftu every day
to bring some measure of freedom aDd racialjus­
tice to that state, and the unconscionable
glorification of tile FBI as the ·goodguys·.
Cwley, Schwemer and Goodman were mur­
dered because they1!tWe part of a group of young
idealists, both Black and white, reauitcd on col-
, lege compuscs and in �. to register
black wters in • state that was � called
"The Closed Soaety-. For their eftortl, they
eamed the hatred «white .. ppiaDs, &om
the governor down to the drep of • ippi
society. That· why the three were murdered.
. ·Miu· ippi Buming·, however, dismisses
them ·civil rights rkers·,· setting in
context t they doiDg in Miss· . pi,
� demeaning their ultimate crifice, if
their dea had IiIdc meaning in the broad
sweep of � for b ct freedom.
Blads in the film are portrayed c.owed,
submissiYe and blaDkfaced They are used as a
backdrop, when in reality they were the prin­
cipals. This· gr hOeI 0 the maay b ck
Mississip' who, � knowiDg they oould be
A Qositive
word
about
the
I Dr. Le repeated ho and aim- repeated throughout the Was fine, but 0
I Today's geoeration is country,' reflect an attitude and
bopeless," a social policy towards young
d daughters people; are a statement -
W1l1Wfor attack in a negative, disrespectful and
hostile emeQ! - about the
tim country OODdemns our lcids yo� They y: "Yo aren'tim-
to life of hope eYer)' portant You don't do anythiag
day of the weeek. orthwhile. You're trouble.
In 1984 between 2SO,OOO and You're DOt needed or wanted
. 50,000 youngsters in this here," 1bat's the that
country were homeless - the young people get everywhere
ugly �es are even higher no . they turn - from the public
Twenty thousand young people sdlool tem, from the mass
poor yoWlg people, between the ages of 16 and 21 media, too often from tlle fami­
people of color, the live on the streets, in the sub- Iy, and - if they are Black, if
are especially harsh: they ways, and in abandoned build- they are poor - from the police,
-I&',..:s.- _. • unco - ings _ 82% of them Blad: and the courts, and the prisons
LatiD°O' In �e bole oflyNe21O .� fact the only time young
York ty were are on pie' d tteDtioo to .
emergency beds people � L!-dareof Pu :.:.a.. . m.
under 2L any AID pos�� Y • en
Out of tile two million YOUDg . they are � so d ,?methiDg.
people under the age of 20 in The adver of Je8DS and
York City, one-third IiYe � an� Coca-Cola are Yer)'
beJo the poverty line. Youth iDtereated m yo� people - t
unemployment' 25%, ith least the 0 with money to
B ck youth uaempIoymezlt d. A£ fo the relt, they are
49%. In 1985 55,000 young . treated if.they baYe no use or
people were arrested by the val e, as 1� they we�e not
pllk.e . .. city • capableofbeing�� d
York'shiahsdlooldropoutr&tc � human . . a
�109L. Stpiflca�t con�lb�t1on. to
These ta' tics, which e make. A$ if � 1D IOdety
He . d, wPfoday psychologist
a fa rite word, and that
wont is maladjusted. I tell you
today that there are some things
to hich I am proud to be
. r 5ha11 never be d-
. ted to lynch segr
tioa, economic inequaliti the
madD of mi1itarism. and self­
de� physical violence. 'The
saIvatiim of the world lies in the
maladjusted. - . I
, became
j ,