Neshoba: The Price of Freedom

This film boldly recalls a shameful and still controversial event in the darker annals of American history, revisiting the horrific events of June 1964 in Philadelphia, MS, where three civil rights activists, who had arrived in town to register black voters, were murdered and buried in an earthen dam. No one went to trial for the killings of two white New Yorkers, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, and black Mississippian James Chaney, until the case was resurrected in 2005 and a local Neshoba County resident, octogenarian Baptist preacher Edgar Ray Killen, was indicted for his ringleader role in the crime. Filmmakers Micki Dickoff and Tony Pagano organize their narrative around the court proceedings, providing context through news clips, recollections from relatives of the victims, accounts by members of a group seeking public accountability, and interviews with current county residents. But the chilling core consists of conversations with Killen himself: oozing hatred, he's still outspoken in his dislike for Jews, intellectuals, and, of course, blacks. Even more disturbing is the fact that many of the townspeople shown here believe that the slain men essentially deserved what they got for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and that the incident should be stuffed into the trash bin of history and forgotten. Neshoba admirably does its best to ensure that won't happen. DVD extras include a bonus featurette and extra courtroom footage. Highly recommended. Aud. C, P. (M. Sandlin)