Senate Concurrent Resolution 677

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE LOSS OF MISSISSIPPI JOURNALISM LEGEND AND PUBLISHER OF THE NESHOBA DEMOCRAT NEWSPAPER STANLEY DEARMAN.

WHEREAS, Stanley Dearman, the Editor and Publisher of a weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Mississippi, whose editorials expressing outrage at the 1964 murders of three young civil rights workers helped set the stage for the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. Stanley Dearman, 84, passed away February 25, 2017, and returned to the red clay soil of Neshoba County. He retired after publishing The Neshoba Democrat weekly newspaper in Philadelphia for 34 years from 1966 to 2000; and

WHEREAS, one story dominated his exemplary career in Mississippi journalism. It was the story that Dearman's perseverance and courage guided to what would become a historic and important resolution in a Neshoba County courtroom some five years after his retirement. In editorials and articles, Mr. Dearman implored state officials to bring criminal charges. In 2016, federal and state authorities officially declared the investigation into the June 21, 1964 murders in Neshoba County, Mississippi, closed after 52 years; and

WHEREAS, Arthur Stanley Dearman was born on July 24, 1932, in Meridian, Mississippi. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he was Editor of the Student Newspaper. He was a Reporter and Editor at The Meridian Star before joining The Democrat as a Reporter in the early 1960s, then buying the paper. In 2007, he received an award from his alma mater for Journalistic Excellence; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Dearman, who was living in retirement in Gulf Breeze, is survived by his wife, Carolyn; son, Leigh; daughter, Lisa Daniels; sisters: Ruth Geiger, Sylvia Crowson, Nellah Prezalor and Mary Ray; and five grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, fortunately he lived long enough to see the fruits of his labor when his beloved hometown of Philadelphia united across racial lines to bring a significant measure of justice for the murders of those young men in 1964. This momentous step would not have occurred without this remarkable man; and

WHEREAS, more comfortable with playing Chopin on his grand piano than with confrontation, Stan Dearman was an exceptionally intelligent, literate and cultured man, the antithesis of the elements he batted over the course of his life and work. Without Dearman and his compatriots in the Philadelphia Coalition who worked for racial reconciliation and justice, the "accounting" Dearman advocated would never have been made. For that, Mississippi's history should note and recall his heroism in the face of great danger:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby mourn the loss of Mississippi Journalism Legend and Publisher of The Neshoba Democrat Newspaper Stanley Dearman, and pay tribute and cherish fondly the memory of this most public-spirited citizen of Mississippi.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Arthur Stanley Dearman and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.