James Snowden (September 21, 1933 – July 7, 2008) was an American truck driver and
white supremacist
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
Philadelphia, Mississippi
Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,118 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
History
Philadelphia is municipal corporation, i ...
, for transporting the kidnapped activists to a remote location to be killed. He was a member of the
White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
The White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) organization primarily located in Mississippi and Louisiana and active in the United States. The organization is known for using violence against the activists in the civil rights mov ...
. He was sentenced in 1967 by federal district judge William Cox to three years for depriving the murdered men of their civil rights.
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
, as the second youngest child to William D. Snowden and Essie A. Snowden. He had two sisters, Myrtle E. Snowden and Mary H. Snowden, and two brothers, William E. Snowden and John C. Snowden. At the time of the murders, aged 31, Snowden lived in
Meridian
Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to
Science
* Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon
* ...
, where he worked for Meridian Laundry.
Crime
Klansman James Jordan testified Snowden was among the men who gathered at Akin's Mobile Homes in
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...
to meet
Edgar Ray Killen
Edgar Ray Killen (January 10, 1925 – January 11, 2018) was an American Ku Klux Klan organizer who planned and directed the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, three civil rights activists participating in the ...
, who had instructed them about the three civil rights workers in jail in Philadelphia and needed to hurry before they were released. Klansman Horace Doyle Barnette said Snowden traveled with him to Philadelphia, where Killen showed the jail where the trio was being held and instructed them on where to wait behind an old warehouse. After the three civil rights workers were released from jail at 10 p.m., the Klansmen pursued them in a high-speed chase. The trio pulled the station wagon over, and
Sheriff's Deputy
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...
Cecil Price
Cecil Ray Price (April 15, 1938 – May 6, 2001) was an American deputy sheriff and member of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He was a participant in the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in 1964.
While he was never charged with ...
ordered them into his patrol car. Barnette identified Snowden as the one who then drove the station wagon to a remote road, where the trio were executed. Jordan identified Snowden as one of those present at the murder scene. Barnette said Snowden rode with him in his car to the dam, where the bodies were buried. Snowden was still with them at about 2 a.m. when fellow Klansman and alleged co-conspirator
Lawrence A. Rainey
Lawrence Andrew Rainey Sr. (March 2, 1923 – November 8, 2002) was an American police officer and white supremacist who served as Sheriff of Neshoba County, Mississippi, from 1963 to 1968. He gained notoriety for his alleged involvement in ...
, who was
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
of
Neshoba County
Neshoba County is a county 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.
The county is known for the Neshoba County Fair and harness horse r ...
at the time, warned the others not to talk. Barnette said he drove back to Meridian and dropped Snowden off at Akin's Mobile Homes.
Conviction
Snowden was indicted on February 28, 1967. He was later convicted of violating the civil rights of
James Chaney
James Earl Chaney (May 30, 1943 – June 21, 1964) was an American civil rights activist. He was one of three Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) civil rights workers murdered in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by members of the Ku Klux Klan on June 2 ...
Michael Schwerner
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 K ...
on October 20, 1967. On December 29, 1967, Judge
William Harold Cox
William Harold Cox (June 23, 1901 – February 25, 1988) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. H ...
sentenced Snowden to three years in federal prison. However, only two of the three years were spent with Snowden behind bars: he was at FCI Texarkana until December 1971 and then transferred to
FCI Lompoc
The Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc I is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Lompoc, California. It is part of the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Lompoc) and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Pri ...
until his release on August 29, 1972. Snowden was reportedly "roughed up" in prison by black inmates.
Personal life
Snowden was a
truck driver
A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...
. When he was released from prison, Snowden returned to trucking jobs in Meridian. Snowden resided in
Hickory, Mississippi
Hickory is a town in Newton County, Mississippi. The population was 530 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Andrew Jackson, who was nicknamed "Old Hickory."
Geography
Hickory is located at .
According to the United States Census Bureau, ...
, during the last years of his life. Snowden was married to Mary Joyce Green (1936-2013). They had one son, Davie Snowden (b. 1963), and two daughters, Vicky L Snowden and Brenda Faye Snowden. Davie Snowden was arrested for shoplifting in July 2013. Snowden's grandson, Thomas Davie Snowden (b. 1991) was arrested October 2012 in Mobile,
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, as a fugitive.
While reporting about the death of fellow trial defendant
Olen Lovell Burrage
Olen Lavelle Burrage (March 16, 1930 – March 15, 2013) was an American farmer and businessman who was tried and acquitted of the June 1964 murders of three civil rights workers. Burrage owned the farm where the bodies of James Chaney, Andrew ...
on March 18, 2013, ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' journalist Douglas Martin claimed that James T. Harris was the only surviving defendant who was tried for the murders, thus implying that Snowden had died by this point in time.
See also
*
Samuel Bowers
Samuel Holloway Bowers Jr. (August 25, 1924 – November 5, 2006) was an American white supremacist who co-founded the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and became its first Imperial Wizard. Previously, he was a Grand Dragon of the Mississi ...
*
Olen Lovell Burrage
Olen Lavelle Burrage (March 16, 1930 – March 15, 2013) was an American farmer and businessman who was tried and acquitted of the June 1964 murders of three civil rights workers. Burrage owned the farm where the bodies of James Chaney, Andrew ...
*
Edgar Ray Killen
Edgar Ray Killen (January 10, 1925 – January 11, 2018) was an American Ku Klux Klan organizer who planned and directed the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, three civil rights activists participating in the ...
*
Cecil Price
Cecil Ray Price (April 15, 1938 – May 6, 2001) was an American deputy sheriff and member of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He was a participant in the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in 1964.
While he was never charged with ...
*
Lawrence A. Rainey
Lawrence Andrew Rainey Sr. (March 2, 1923 – November 8, 2002) was an American police officer and white supremacist who served as Sheriff of Neshoba County, Mississippi, from 1963 to 1968. He gained notoriety for his alleged involvement in ...