On June 21 , 1964 , three civil rights workers disappeared : James Chaney , a young black Mississippian and plasterer 's apprentice ; and two Jewish activists , Andrew Goodman , a Queens College anthropology student ; and Michael Schwerner , a CORE organizer from Manhattan 's Lower East Side . They were found weeks later , murdered by conspirators who turned out to be local members of the Klan , some of them members of the Neshoba County sheriff 's department . This outraged the public , leading the U.S. Justice Department along with the FBI ( the latter which had previously avoided dealing with the issue of segregation and persecution of blacks ) to take action . The outrage over these murders helped lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
three civil rights workers disappeared
Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner
Civil rights movement