Friday, August 12, 2011

New York, NY, - CORE Executive Director, George Holmes, called the June 26th brutal murder of James Anderson, a 49-year-old African-American man, by a gang of white teens in Jackson, Mississippi a major setback in race relations for the country. Holmes said he was shocked and disappointed that such a vial act of racially motivated violence could occur in a city that just days before had named a new federal office building after the three CORE civil rights workers—James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Mickey Schwerner—that were killed by the kkk in 1964. Holmes said that he and CORE's Advisory Board Chairman, Joseph Lovece, Jr. joined local CORE officials, the families of the 3 slain CORE workers and dozens of community leaders and elected officials at the naming ceremony on June 21st. "At that time I praised the citizens of the state of Mississippi for the tremendous progress they had made towards improving race relations in the state" Holmes said. In the past, Mississippi was considered one of the most racist states in the country. "While I do not believe this latest incident represents the attitudes of the White population in the state of Mississippi, it does prove that there still exists a sub-culture of racism and anti-Black sentiment in some areas around the country." he added.

CORE National Chairman, Roy Innis, said the attack brings back disturbing memories of the old Jim Crow south that we all thought were long gone. He also said that despite the fact that an African-American currently occupies the White House, racism still exist in America.