Ben Chester White

Ben Chester White (January 5, 1899 – June 10, 1966) was an African-American caretaker, uninvolved in the civil rights movement, shot down by the KKK.[1] This was likely in an attempt to move focus away from James Meredith’s March Against Fear or to lure Martin Luther King, Jr. in an assassination attempt. This murder went unnoticed by King.[2][3][4]

Ben Chester White
Born(1899-01-05)January 5, 1899
Natchez, Mississippi
DiedJune 10, 1966(1966-06-10) (aged 67)
Natchez, Mississippi
Occupation(s)Caretaker, Deacon
ChildrenJesse White and Louis White

Biography

Early life

For his whole life, Ben Chester White was a caretaker to the Carter family farm on Liberty Road in Natchez, Mississippi, as well as a deacon in the local Baptist church.[2][4] He would perform tasks around the farm and with a limited ability to read would still quote vast passages from the bible.[2]

Children

Death and afterward

Ben Chester White was murdered by James L. Jones, Claude Fuller, and Ernest Avants of the KKK on June 10, 1966; he is buried in Southwood Lodge Church Cemetery, Natchez, Mississippi.[1][5]

After buying Ben Chester White a soda, the three men took him into the Homochitto National Forest, ostensibly to help them find a lost dog, where he was shot eighteen times, dumped into Pretty Creek; the murderers burned the car in a planter's driveway across the county. Jones would be the one to soon after confess to the crime. Fuller and Jones were indicted but never tried, and Avants was acquitted (White's family later won a financial judgment that was never paid). Avants was retried and imprisoned later.[2][3][4][6]

1968 - Jesse White sued the KKK for his father's death and was awarded $1 million from the court. This was the first time in history the organization was legally held responsible for one of its members. The $1 million was never received.[3]

1989 - He is featured in the Civil Rights Memorial

2013 - Footage about White was shown in an episode of the documentary Civil Rights Movement Road Trip.[7]

Further reading

References
  1. "Ben Chester White". Find a grave. Archived from the original on 2019-10-28.
  2. "KKK killed Ben Chester White, hoping to lure & kill MLK". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  3. "Ben Chester White: Murdered by Klansmen as Attempt to Lure and Kill Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr". Black Then. 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  4. "White, Ben Chester – MS Civil Rights Project". Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  5. "Mississippi History Timeline » Ben Chester White Killed". Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  6. Bragg, Rick (2003-03-01). "Former Klansman Is Found Guilty of 1966 Killing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  7. "Civil Right Movement Road Trip" Civil Rights Memorial, Montgomery Alabama (TV Episode 2013) - IMDb, retrieved 2019-10-26
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