Rita Schwerner Bender

Rita Schwerner was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s who continues to advocate for civil and human rights today. Her first husband, Michael (Mickey) Schwerner, was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in Freedom Summer of 1964. His young widow, then Rita Schwerner, is known for her response at a press conference after her husband went missing in which she called out the US for racial prejudice. After the Civil Rights Movement, Schwerner became an attorney and married William Bender. Rita Schwerner Bender now practices family law in Washington State and continues to advocate for civil rights today through her law practice and various public presentations.

Freedom Summer 1964

The summer of 1964, known as "Freedom Summer" was an endeavor to register more black voters in the deep south. It was headed up by civil rights activist groups such as the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Rita Schwerner and her husband Michael (Mickey) were among a group of three hundred students who were sent to Mississippi to help with the voting campaign. They were 22 and 24 years old. The Schwerners came with a group from New York, and two other men among them were James Chaney, a black man, and Andrew Goodman, who was white. The group was warned of Mississippi's pattern of violence against black people and white people who were on the side of Civil Rights. The students understood that their involvement with the movement could mean their lives. The students headed down to Mississippi from a training convention in Ohio. Schwerner, Cheney and Goodman were given the assignment of investigating the bombing of a church involved in the movement in Neshoba County. On June 24, Sunday, the three men were driving together when they were stopped by Neshoba deputy sheriff Cecil Price outside of the town of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Price arrested the three men on charge of speeding and locked them in the jailhouse, only to release them around 10pm that night. The men were never seen again.

News of the disappearance spread quickly, and President Johnson himself ordered a military search for the men. The national media covered the story in detail, and FBI posters went up for the three all over the country. In the wake of this national crisis and the disappearance of her husband, Rita Schwerner was interviewed by the media in Meridian, Mississippi and gave this response to the situation:

“It is tragic, as far as I am concerned, that white northerners have to be caught up in the machinery of injustice and indifference in the South. Before the American people register concern, I personally suspect that if Mr. Cheney, who is a native Mississippian negro, had been alone at the time of the disappearance that this case like so many other that have come before would have been completely unnoticed.”

Soon it was discovered that Schwerner, Cheney, and Goodman had been murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. Sheriff Price was affiliated with the Klan and had participated in the murder.

Three years later, Price was convicted with the killing of the three men and was given six years in prison. He died in 2001 at the age of 63. While there were other Klan members involved in the murder, only six of them were convicted along with Price.

Law school and second marriage

After her work in the Civil Right Movement, Schwerner decided to go to law school and become an attorney. She attended Rutgers School in New Jersey in 1965, three years after her husband was murdered. It was while studying at Rutgers that she met her second husband, William J. Bender. Out of 150 students in the graduating class of 1968, Schwerner was one of five women.

Current law practice

Rita Schwerner Bender is now a successful private family practice attorney in Washington State. Her areas of speciality are family law, adoption and assisted reproduction, and professional ethics and discipline. Bender continues to be active in the fight for civil rights today and has made several public presentations on the topic such the titles "Searching for Restorative Justice: The Trial of Edgar Ray Killen" and "Racial Disparity in Education and State Action." Additionally, Bender has written or co-written several publications pertaining to her areas of law practice. A few of her works are "FAQ: Surrogacy, Sperm Donation and Egg Donation in Washington for Prospective Gay and Lesbian Parents" (This publication was created with Raegen N. Rasnic and Janet M. Helson) and "Washington State Legal Technician Rule: Myths and Facts," an article which appeared in the Washington State Bar news in 2008.