Michael Schwerner | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait of Schwerner | |
| Born | Michael Henry Schwerner November 6, 1939 Pelham, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 21, 1964 (aged 24) |
| Cause of death | Murder |
| Other names | Mickey Schwerner |
| Spouse | |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom (Posthumous; 2014) |
Michael Henry Schwerner (November 6, 1939 – June 21, 1964) was an American civil rights activist. He was one of three Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) field workers murdered in rural Neshoba County, Mississippi, by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Schwerner and two co-workers, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, were killed in response to their civil rights work, which included promoting voting registration among African Americans, most of whom had been disenfranchised in the state since 1890.