Mississippi FREEDOM SUMMER - The Right to Vote and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement

History/Social Science Academic Content Standard: students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights. – Discuss the diffusion of the civil rights movement of African Americans from the churches of the rural South and the urban North, including the resistance to racial desegregation in Little Rock and Birmingham, and how the advances influenced the agendas, strategies, and effectiveness of the quests of American Indians, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans for civil rights and equal opportunities.

Unpacking the Standard: You need to know… a. Leaders that were involved in the Civil Rights Movement b. Strategies that were used to illicit change c. Groups that were formed to help illicit change d. Laws and legislation that were passed as a result of the Civil Rights Movement e. The difficulties that were faced by participants of the Civil Rights Movement f. How the Civil Rights Movement affects us today

What’s the Big Idea? Students will understand that … The evolution of 20 th century American civil rights movement was an effort to fulfill the promises and expectations of the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution.

The Essential Questions? What strategies did the social groups use to solicit change? (focus of the lesson) How did the strategies bring about change? How did the civil rights movement evolve to its present day form? What roles did the various leaders/groups of the movement play?

Overview of Freedom Summer Freedom Summer was a highly publicized campaign in the Deep South during the summer of Their goal was to register blacks to vote.

More Overview…  Blacks had been kept from voting in the south, despite the passage of the 15 th Amendment to the Constitution in Freedom Summer marked the climax of an intensive voter-registration drive that has started in The efforts were focused on Mississippi because of the state’s poor voting record.  The Freedom Summer campaign was organized by a coalition called the Mississippi Council of Federated Organizations, which was led by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The organization of the Mississippi Freedom Party (MFDP) was also a major focus of the campaign.

Overview continued…  Lack of equality in the educational system was also brought into focus during the campaign with the organization of “Freedom Schools”. Many of the white college students were assigned to teach in the schools, which later became models for programs like Head Start. Freedom Summer activists and volunteers faced threats and harassment throughout the campaign. There were bombings, arrests, and other forms of violence, but none more infamous as the murder of three young civil rights workers; James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner. Despite the difficulties and violence faced during the campaign, there were many positive outcomes. Congress passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. A new consciousness was instilled among many of the African-Americans in the south, as well as a new confidence in political action. Some say, Freedom Summer was one of the greatest things that ever happened in Mississippi.

Freedom Summer: The Beginning In the early 1960’s, Mississippi was the poorest state in the nation. 86% of all non-white families lived below the poverty line. The state was notorious for a poor voting record among blacks, as well as numerous voting rights violations. In the 1950’s, Mississippi was 45% black, yet only 5% of voting age blacks were registered to vote. Although black men had been awarded the right to vote with the passage of the 15 th Amendment in 1870, they had been unable to exercise that right in many places throughout the south. White local and state officials systematically kept blacks from voting with the use of poll taxes and literacy tests. Many resorted to basic forms of intimidation, threats, and fear.

Freedom Summer: The Goal In the late 1950’s, the NAACP went to Mississippi in an effort to register more blacks to vote. Amzie Moore, a local NAACP leader in Mississippi, met with SNCC worker Robert Moses while Moses was traveling through the state in July of Moore encouraged Moses to bring more SNCC workers to the state, and help with the registration efforts. The following summer the SNCC organized a month long registration education program in the town of McComb, teaching a weekly class that showed people how to register. SNCC worker Marion Barry arrived later in August, 1961 and started workshops to teach black youth methods of protesting nonviolently. Many of the youth were too young to vote, but were eager to join the movement. As they began to hold sit-ins, many were arrested and expelled from school. In response to the expulsions, Moses started Nonviolent High School to teach the expelled students. Moses and others were arrested and charged with “contributing to the delinquency of minors”. In 1962 SNCC, CORE, SCLC and other groups got together to organize the Freedom Vote. They were able to establish two main goals: 1. To show Mississippi whites and the nation that blacks wanted to vote, and 2. To give blacks, many of whom had never voted, practice in casting a ballot.

Freedom Summer: The Campaign After the success of the Freedom Vote, SNCC decided to send volunteers to Mississippi during the summer of 1964, which happened to be a presidential election year. They were planning to implement a large voter registration drive, which became known as Freedom Summer. Bob Moses, one of the organizers, outlined the goals of Freedom Summer to prospective volunteers at Stanford University: – 1. to expand black voter registration in the state of Mississippi – 2. to organize a legally constituted “Freedom Democratic Party” that – would challenge the whites-only Mississippi Democratic Party. – 3. to establish “freedom schools” to teach reading and math to black – children 4. to open community centers where indigent blacks could obtain legal medical assistance  Nearly 1,000 volunteers from all over the country arrived at Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio to begin training. The training sessions included workshops on nonviolence and how to work with children teaching them math, reading, and black history.

Groups Involved: CORE The Congress of Racial Equality was founded in 1942 as the Committee of Racial Equality by an interracial group of students in Chicago. The founders were deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings of nonviolent resistance. By the end of 1961, CORE had 53 affiliated chapters, and remained active in southern civil rights activities. In 1964, CORE participated in the Mississippi Freedom Summer project. 3 of their members, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, were brutally murdered that summer, resulting in an infamous case. For more information on CORE, go to

Groups Involved: NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was established in They are famous for the many legal battles they have fought against segregation and discrimination. They were successful in desegregating schools with the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka case in With the help of other civil rights groups, they worked to end the political disenfranchisement of African Americans in the Deep South. They participated in the Freedom Summer campaign, and concentrated their efforts on Mississippi. They were instrumental in establishing Freedom Schools, and pressing for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of For more information on CORE, go to

Groups Involved: SNCC The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was a political organization formed in 1960 by black college students dedicated to overturning segregation in the South and giving young blacks a stronger voice in the civil rights movement in the United States. In 1964 SNCC helped create Freedom Summer, an effort to register blacks to vote and focus national attention on Mississippi’s racism. An estimated 600 young people, many of them white college students, volunteered to travel to the south to help with the project. SNCC organizers recruited teachers, clergy, artists, and lawyers to create freedom schools and community centers in a further effort to educate the black youth, and mobilize black citizens. For more information on CORE, go to

Groups Involved: SCLC The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was established in 1957, and formed the backbone of the civil rights movement during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., black churches and ministers joined together to help end segregation and discrimination with the use of nonviolent civil disobedience. Their significance to the civil rights movement centered on a series of highly publicized protest campaigns in the early 1960’s. SCLC volunteers helped with the Freedom Summer campaign, and they organized a march that created support for the Voting Rights Act if For more information on SCLC, go to

Freedom Schools- One of the goals of the Freedom Summer campaign was to establish “freedom schools” to teach reading, math, and black history to black children. CORE, SNCC, and NAACP were able to establish 30 Freedom Schools in towns throughout Mississippi. Volunteers from the various groups were recruited to teach in the schools, and convey the nonviolent message of the civil rights movement.

Freedom Schools- violence Freedom Schools were often the target of racism and violence. The following poem was written by Joyce Brown, a 16 year old girl who attended a Freedom School in McComb, Mississippi: Underground Education: The COFO Freedom School In a bombed house I have to teach my school Because I believe all men should live By the Golden Rule. To a bombed house your children must come, Because of your fear of a bomb, And because you’ve let your fear conquer your soul, In this bombed house these minds I must try to mould. I must try to teach them to stand tall and be a man, When you’re their parents have cowered Down and refused to take a stand. Taken from the Bay Area Friends of SNCC Newsletter, January 1965

Freedom Schools- purpose The school project was proposed by a Howard University student by the name of Charles Cobb. His purpose was “to create an educational experience for students which will make it possible for them to challenge the myths of our society, to perceive more clearly its realities, and to find alternatives – ultimately new directions for action.” Nearly a year after the project was proposed, there were 41 functioning schools in 20 communities in the state of Mississippi with an enrollment of 2,135 students – nearly twice the number they had expected.

Freedom Schools- education The schools offered not only academic courses, but an exposure to a totally new field of learning for the black youth. They were exposed to new attitudes, new people, and a new use of their imagination. The schools made the kids feel as if they hadn’t been forgotten. The schools were tailored to fit them, and were able to inspire and create courage in the face of oppression. At the end of the Mississippi Freedom Summer project, the Freedom Schools continued. In several areas they were running jointly with regular public school sessions. The schools became an instrumental aid in enabling students to make a transition from a Mississippi Negro high school to higher education.

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party The organization of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) was a major focus of the summer program. More than 80,000 Mississippians joined the new party, which elected a group of 68 delegates to the national Democratic Party convention, held that year in Atlantic City Previous to the formation of the MFDP, the Democratic Party representing Mississippi was all white. The MFDP wanted to challenge the all white delegation, and help integrate the party and bring African- American delegates to power.

MFDP- Fannie Lou Hamer When the delegates arrived in Atlanta, they were confronted by the white delegates representing Mississippi, and not allowed a seat. The confrontation was taken to the credentials committee, and televised on August 22. Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer represented the MFDP in the hearing. Afraid America would hear her speech, and side with the MFDP, President Johnson asked for a televised press conference in order to stop coverage of the hearing. In the end, the credentials committee ruled that the MFDP would not be allowed to represent Mississippi. In a last attempt to show their presence, some MFDP delegates tried to take the open seats left by white delegates, but they were refused. Even though the MFDP delegates were denied a seat in the convention, the Democratic Party was changed forever.

Legislation- Despite the difficulties, violence and problems, Freedom Summer left a positive legacy. The well published voter registration drives brought national attention to the subject of black disenfranchisement, and this eventually led to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, federal legislation that outlawed the tactics Southern states had used to prevent blacks from voting.

1964 Civil Rights Act President Johnson signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act in July of that year. 1. it gave federal government the right to end segregation in the South 2. it prohibited segregation in public places.. 3. an Equal Employment Commission was created 4. federal funding would not be given to segregated schools (note that these had been banned in 1954, ten years previous!) 5. any company that wanted federal business (the biggest spender of money in American business) had to have a pro-civil rights charter.

1965 Voting Rights Act President Lyndon B. Johnson made civil rights one of his top priorities. President sent the Voting Rights Bill to Congress, and it was signed into law on August 6, This empowered the federal government to oversee voter registration and elections in counties that had tests to determine voter eligibility or where registration/turnout had been less than 50% in the 1964 election. The law banned discriminatory literacy tests and expanded voting rights for non-English speaking Americans.

Violence and Murder During Freedom Summer 30 black homes and 37 black churches were firebombed. White mobs or racist police beat over 80 civil rights volunteers. One of the most infamous cases of violence that occurred during Freedom Summer was the murder of 3 volunteers. This tragedy, which was intended to discourage efforts, only made the movement stronger.

Violence and Murder- On June 21, Three volunteers were asked to investigate the site of a church that had been burned in Philadelphia. The 3 men had been arrested for speeding and released from jail later that evening. They disappeared on their way home. Their bodies were found on August 4, all three had been murdered – James Chaney (African-American) had been beaten before being murdered.

Violence and Murder- The FBI determined that the civil rights workers had been murdered as a result of a conspiracy between elements of Neshoba County law enforcement and the Ku Klux Klan. The murders provoked national outrage and led to the first successful prosecution of a civil rights case in Mississippi. Despite the tragedy, volunteers pressed on with their goal of registering black voters.

Pride The people involved with Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Movement faced great hardship, but also developed a great sense of pride. Many people risked and lost their lives to help fight for something they believed in.

Think About It…. Knowing what they went through, would you have volunteered to help with Freedom Summer? Would be willing to risk your life for a cause you believe in?

CORE

Marches-

Integration of Central High, 1957

Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine

Sit-in, Mississippi 1963

Freedom Rides

Birmingham, 1963

4 Little Girls, killed in church bombing in Birmingham, AL