By: Fred Smith
Freedom Summer, also known as the Mississippi Summer Project, began in June 1964 as one of the most significant civil rights campaigns in American history. Organized by major civil rights groups including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the NAACP, the movement focused on increasing African American voter registration in Mississippi, one of the most segregated states in the South at the time. Despite African Americans making up a large portion of the state’s population, discriminatory laws, intimidation and violence pre- vented many Black citizens from voting.
Hundreds of college students and civil rights volunteers traveled from across the country to Mississippi during the summer of 1964 to help register African American voters, teach in Freedom Schools and support local Black communities fighting for equal rights. Volunteers went door-to-door encouraging people to register while also educating communities about constitutional rights and civic participation. Freedom Schools were established to teach African American children subjects often ignored in segregated schools, including Black history, leadership and political awareness.
The campaign faced intense resistance from segregationists and white supremacist groups. Many volunteers and local activists were threatened, beaten, arrested and attacked during the movement. One of the most tragic moments of
Freedom Summer came when civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were kidnapped Read more at and murdered near ….
