NEWS
Student’s project to air on ‘Montel’
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Becky Vevea:
- Lawmakers call for reduced emissions; voter mobilization (February 1, 2008)
- Fires prompt safety drive, free batteries (January 25, 2008)
- Professors receive philanthropy award (November 12, 2007)
- Lecture explores biblical studies, media portrayals (November 6, 2007)
- UW students take on homelessness (November 2, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Ice drilling team returns (January 30, 2008)
- New law would lower donor age (January 25, 2008)
- Regents ponder extracurricular life transcripts (February 7, 2008)
- Wisconsin Innocence Project pulls images of accused murderer (March 6, 2006)
- Won't you stay: State pushing for retention (January 21, 2008)
by Becky Vevea
Thursday, February 7, 2008
A University of Wisconsin sophomore is appearing today on
“The Montel Williams Show” to discuss a documentary she filmed that led to the
conviction of a man involved in the murders portrayed in the movie “Mississippi
Burning.”
Brittany Saltiel filmed “The CORE of the Solution” with
two classmates as a National History Day project four years ago when she was a
sophomore at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill.
“I think it’s amazing that it’s still going four years
later,” Saltiel said about the attention the documentary has received.
According to the documentary’s website, three men,
including former UW student Andrew Goodman, were murdered in 1964 while
volunteering in Mississippi to help blacks gain the right to vote. At the time,
no one was convicted of the murders.
The documentary’s exclusive interview with Edgar Ray
Killen, the main suspect in the planning of the murders of the young men, led
to his arrest and conviction.
Saltiel said she and her classmates were in close contact
with a reporter in Mississippi and were able to make contacts with the young
men’s families, allowing them to access important information concerning the
case.
“The Montel Williams Show” was filmed last November and is
not the first appearance Saltiel and her classmates have made on national
television.
“We had done tapings before, so it was nothing new,”
Saltiel added, mentioning “The Today Show,” “CBS Nightly News,” “ABC World News
Tonight” and all the local affiliates in the Chicago area.
“The Montel Williams Show,” airing today at 4 p.m. on My
Madison TV 14, focuses on hate crimes and includes Saltiel and her classmates.
Coordinating the trip to appear on the show last November
was harder than the actual taping, Saltiel added.
The documentary received a number of congressional honors
including a tribute presented by the presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Barack
Obama, D-Ill., and was awarded the 2005 Presidential Award for Justice.
The Congress of Racial Equality, the group the young men
had been volunteering for, also honored the documentary in 2004 with the Civil
Rights Champion Award.
“I think it’s pretty amazing that after 40-some years three
high school girls were able to reopen such an important case,” UW sophomore
Erin Palmer said. “It just proves what young people are capable of.”
Add a comment
We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.
Login...
Not registered? Sign up now.
It's quick, free, and the email address you provide will not be sold or solicited.
