Florence Mars (January 1, 1923 – April 23, 2006) was an American civil rights activist and author best known for her book ''Witness in Philadelphia'' about the murder of three civil rights activists in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Civil rights activities

Mars was one of the few whites in

Neshoba County, Mississippi Neshoba County is located in the central part of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,087. Its county seat is Philadelphia. It was named after ''Nashoba'', a Choctaw chief. His name means "wolf" in the ...

who supported the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. She helped to register black voters. Mars lived in Philadelphia, Mississippi when three civil rights activists James Chaney,

Michael Schwerner Michael Henry Schwerner (November 6, 1939 – June 21, 1964), was one of three Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) field workers killed in rural Neshoba County, Mississippi, by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Schwerner and two co-workers, James Chan ...

and Andrew Goodman were beaten and shot by members of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

near Philadelphia. She was one of the few inhabitants to co-operate with the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

. Edgar Ray Killen and others faced trial for violating the civil rights of the men in 1967 but the jury was deadlocked. Seven men were convicted in relation to the incident but no-one served more than six years. This incident was later the subject of the film ''

Mississippi Burning ''Mississippi Burning'' is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker that is loosely based on the 1964 murder investigation of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. It stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI ...

'', which was released in 1988. Frances McDormand's character was partly based on Mars. Mars' activities led to the

burning down her barn in an effort to intimidate her.

''Witness in Philadelphia''

In 1977, she published ''Witness in Philadelphia: a Mississippi WASP's Account of Civil Rights Murders'' which told of her activities in the civil rights movement and the murder of the three activists. This book helped to keep interest alive in the murders with the success of ''

'' making many more people aware of the incident. As a result of this incident, Killen was sentenced to sixty years in prison on June 1, 2005.

Death

Mars died in Philadelphia, Mississippi, aged 83, of

Bell's palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary fr ...

and

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

from which she had been suffering.

References

''Witness in Philadelphia''
by Florence Mars.

1977;

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mars, Florence 1923 births 2006 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights People from Philadelphia, Mississippi Writers from Mississippi