June 21, 2014, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the infamous Neshoba County murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman.
And, while it is good to remember and honor the victims of such devastating tragedies, it is also painful-particularly for those personally connected.
Detour Before Midnight is a unique historical memoir that casts you right in the heart of Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964, rendering the civil rights movement through the passionate eyes of a young African American girl.
Bernice Sims was just a teenager in the early 1960s, but she was already a member of the NAACP. She was also one of the last people ever to see Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman alive.
The three men made an unscheduled stop at her family's house on their way to investigate the charred remains of a voter registration site. Bernice begged them to take her with them on what would end up being their last mission. They refused.
Detour Before Midnight demonstrates one woman's remarkable courage to overcome years of grief and survivor's guilt in order to finally offer her personal tribute to these men.
About the Author: Bernice Sims, LCSW/ACSW, is a veteran of the civil rights movement, having been an active member of NAACP, COFO, and CORE since she was a teenager in the early 1960s. She later left Mississippi to move to New York, where she graduated from Adelphi University and went on to become a social worker.
Sims was elected the first African American female to serve as councilperson on Long Island; she also served on the advisory board for former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. Additionally, Sims has contributed to the art community as a SAG actor, a visual artist, and a writer.
Detour Before Midnight is her personal account of the last few hours she and her family spent with the Mississippi Burning civil rights workers, before they were abducted and murdered by the KKK on June 21, 1964.
