Assignment Task:
What is the Freedom Summer movement and why did it happen?
The freedom summer was a nonviolent movement that is also known as the Mississippi summer project. It happened in 1964 and the main point of this movement was to increase the number of registered African American voters in Mississippi. For about a century, segregation had prevented many African American from being included in different things such as voting. Segregated housing, schools, workplaces and more made it difficult for black Mississipians to have access to political power and economic power. The majority of the African American community lived in poverty, indebted to white banks and plantation owners. African Americans who dared to challenge the police or white supremacy groups were often killed, raped, fired from their jobs or kicked out of their homes.
Who participated in this movement and who were the main people involved to make this happen?
More than 60,000 African American Mississippi residents risked their life everyday to attend different local meetings. About 1,500 volunteers worked in project offices spread across Mississippi. Some people who played a key role in this movement are Dave Dennis, Robert Moses, Lawrence Guyot, Julian Bond, Mary King and many more.
Which groups were against this movement?
There were 3 groups who were against this movement:
The first one was white supremacy groups one of them was the Klu Klux Klan. It was a group that was violent with black residents and civil rights.
The second one was Mississippi's elected officials. It included its senators and governors who publicly refused to be part of the movements and were against everything that would this movement to succeed.
The third one was business leaders. Different businesses came together in white citizens councils to come up with different punishments for African Americans who would decide to participate in this movement. They came up with punishments such as fire black workers from their jobs and banned them from entering shopping stores.
What were the goals for freedom Summer and what did freedom summer accomplish?
The overall goal was to have African American residents to be able to participate in local, state, and national elections.
Some of the specific goals were:
1. To create the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
2. Set up Freedom Schools
3. Open Community Centers
Freedom summer raised awareness to many people in America for the need to change regarding what was going on with the voting rights and more. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Acts of 1965 after understanding and being educated during Freedom Summer.
Question 1: Did Freedom Summer have an impact in today's society?
Question 2: If Freedom Summer was to happen in today's world, how do you thing people and the media would respond to this movement?