This fall, St Lawrence welcomed its newest organization: The SLU chapter of the Andrew Goodman Foundation (AGF). The chapter began its work on campus in August in order to increase students’ involvement in contemporary politics. This group commemorates the work of civil rights icon Andrew Goodman, by encouraging civic engagement among millennials.
SLU’s AGF chapter has already begun to honor Goodman’s legacy in the North Country. In mid-September, members of the organization, accompanied by Faculty coordinator Dr. Alan Draper, hiked Goodman Mountain.
In 2002, this 2,176-foot peak in the Adirondack Mountains town of Tupper Lake, New York, was officially named Goodman Mountain in Goodman’s memory. Goodman’s family had a summer home in Tupper Lake and Goodman attributes many of his favorite memories to summers in the NoCo.
Following their hike, the group continued to learn about Goodman’s connection to Northern New York by visiting the Beth Joseph Synagogue. This place of worship is the oldest synagogue in the Adirondack region and has been generously supported by the Goodman family.
At the synagogue, club members were able to see pictures of Goodman, which were placed there by his family.
As the year progresses, the club will continue to work in collaboration with the national Andrew Goodman Foundation to promote voter awareness on campus. This year alone SLU AGF has already registered 86 voters at numerous on-campus events.
In November, AGF will be hosting noted-political columnist Ari Berman. Berman is known for his writing on topics related to modern voting-rights. This will directly relate to the personal history of Andrew Goodman.
At the height of the Civil Rights Movement in 1964, Andrew Goodman traveled to Mississippi to assist African-American communities interested in voting. On his first day in Mississippi, Goodman and two other civil rights workers were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. The story of the attacks spread across the nation and helped to cement support for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Andrew was born and raised on the Upper West Side of New York City, but was connected to the North Country through family, friends and a home in Tupper Lake. He was the second of three boys born from Robert and Carolyn Goodman, and of Jewish heritage. Andrew was devoted to the concepts of equality, civil rights and social justice, later studying anthropology and government at Queens College.
In 1964, Goodman volunteered along with fellow activist Mickey Schwerner to work on the “Freedom Summer” project of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to register blacks to vote in Mississippi. Having protested U.S. President Lyndon Johnson’s presence at the opening of that year’s World’s Fair, Goodman left New York to train and develop civil rights strategies at Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio. In mid-June, Goodman travelled to Meridian, Mississippi, and was designated the head of the field office to work on registering blacks in rural areas to vote.
On June 21, 1964, Andrew and his two companions were murdered by two Mississippi Klansmen out looking for black voters to intimidate. The Klansmen were never convicted of murder, but the event became a symbol of the injustice of segregation in the South and increased feelings of unity among white and black communities nationally.
Today, the Andrew Goodman Foundation exists in memory of the sacrifice of all those committed to the pursuit of equality and civil rights.
Andrew’s memory continues to be honored by the Andrew Goodman Foundation and it affiliate chapters throughout the nation. This year AGF aims to register over 10.000 student voters. The organization reminds students that when it comes to politics, their voice is their vote.