Speakers and Program Participants

Speakers confirmed thus far for this year's caravan, service and conference:

Judge D'Army Bailey - Judge, Tennessee Circuit Court, Memphis, TN. Actor. Civil rights movement author. Former City Council member, Berkeley, California. Civil rights movement veteran, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). President Emeritus - National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, TN. Currently, one of three people being considered for appointment to the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Keith Beauchamp - Producer of the film documentary The Untold Story of Emmett Till. Dedicated 12 years of his life to telling the story of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old black boy brutally slain in Mississippi in the summer of 1955. Grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Lives presently in New York City. In 1999,  founded Till Freedom Come Productions, a company devoted to socially significant projects that both educate and entertain.

Ben Chaney - Mississippi veteran of the civil rights movement. Director of the James Earl Chaney Foundation.Native of Meridian, MS. Younger brother of slain civil rights worker James Chaney.

Obie Clark - Long time civil rights activist of Meridian, Mississippi. In 1969, became president of the Meridian chapter of the NAACP, a position he held for more than two decades. For many years he taught school in Meridian and was heavily involved in school and public accommodation desegregation efforts. Mr. Clark, his son Cedric, and fellow activist Rev. J.C. Killingsworth integrated the Highland Park Pool in Meridian on the same day that Neil Armstrong put his foot on the moon. Continues to live in Meridian where he operates a funeral home.

Carolyn Hickman - Native of Longdale, Neshoba County, Mississippi. Stalwart supporter and volunteer worker who ensures the memorial service happens each year.

Rev. Charles Johnson - Civil rights movement veteran of Meridian, Mississippi. Native of Orlando, Florida. Pastor of Fitkins Memorial Church of the Nazarene in Meridian for 46 years. Founded the Meridian Action Committee (MAC), a local civil rights group that helped to desegregate lunch counters, restaurants, movie theaters, etc. MAC also helped to break down discrimination in hiring practices in local department stores, grocery stores, and convenient stores through boycotts and picketing. Led the picketing of Meridian City Hall against police brutality.

Rev. Michael Latham - Pastor of Renaissance Baptist Church, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. President of  Ft. Wayne-Allen County, Indiana branch of the NAACP.

Rev.  Advial McKenzie - Human rights activist. Pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Quitman, Clarke County, Mississippi.

Diane Nash -Chairperson of the student nonviolent sit-in movement in the first southern city to desegregate its lunch counters (Nashville, 1960). One of the founding students of SNCC (1960). Coordinator of the Freedom Ride from Birmingham to Jackson in 1961. Director of the direct action arm of SNCC in 1961. Worked in voter registration and direct action projects in many counties in Mississippi. Activist in the peace movement that worked to end the Vietnam War. Co-developer of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's (SCLC) initial strategy for the Selma Right-to-Vote movement. Native and resident of Chicago she currently works in support of several issues related to liberation and peace. 

Judge Olly Neal - Civil rights movement veteran of Memphis, Tennessee (sit-ins and other activities).

Graduate of LeMoyne Owen College, Memphis, Tennesse. Civil rights movement veteran of Arkansas.

Former long term Executive Director of Lee County (Marianna, AR) Cooperative Clinic. Graduate of

University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law.  Prosecuting Attorney, Arkansas First Judicial District (1991 -

1992). Circuit Judge, Arkansas First Judicial District (1993-1995). Judge, Arkansas Court of Appeals (1996 - 2006). 

George Roberts - Long-time human rights activist. Native of Kemper County, Mississippi. Former President, Kemper County NAACP.