Notice of an event honoring civil rights workers who fought and died for others’ voting rights:
As we approach the important Nov. 3 midterm elections, we have an opportunity to honor the memory of one of the brave souls who lost his life working for others’ voting rights. Michael Schwerner, along with New Yorker Andrew Goodman and Mississippian James Chaney, was killed by Ku Klux Klan members in June 1964 as they were working to register Black voters. Michael Schwerner, also known as Mickey, was a graduate of Pelham High School, and he was married to another civil rights worker, Rita Levant (later Rita Schwerner Bender), who was born in Mount Vernon.
Given those important ties, when the bridge over the Hutchinson River Parkway between Mount Vernon and Pelham was being reconstructed, youth from the Church of Saints John, Paul and Clement in Mount Vernon would commemorate Mickey’s November 6th birthday by walking over to pray and give thanks for his life and legacy. When the reconstruction was complete in 2021, at the suggestion of Rev. Petero A. N. Sabune, New York State memorialized the civil rights icons by giving the bridge a new name: the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.- Michael Henry Schwerner Memorial Bridge.
Reflecting the coming together of people and communities that those civil rights icons championed, on Sunday, November 1, as they have done several times in the past, faith community members from both sides of the bridge will meet to commemorate the important work of the civil rights workers. As Rev. Sabune explains, “November 1st we shall walk from 126 South 9th Avenue and meet at the bridge at 12:00 noon, to remember the three young men who gave their lives to protect the rights of those who had been denied their right to vote … People from Christ Church, Pelham will come and meet us at the bridge for Prayer and Remembrance with a call to action.”
Rev. Sabune invites participation from anyone wishing to celebrate our voting rights and pay homage to those who helped win them: “Yes, others are welcome to join the walk on November 1st, two days before the midterms. We worship at 10 am and plan to leave at 11:30 am from 126 South 9th Avenue [to] meet at the bridge at 12:00 noon for a time of celebrating Mickey, Andy and James.”