Freedom Summer
A Brief History with DocumentsFirst Edition ©2017
ISBN:9781319054137
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ISBN:9781457669330
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In the summer of 1964 in Mississippi, a coalition of civil rights organizations spread out into black communities across the state to organize a grassroots voter registration movement, challenging the Jim Crow system of segregation and all it stood for. This title highlights the role of black Mississippians who were at the heart of Freedom Summer, including the local women who assumed key leadership positions. The Introduction provides a narrative account that begins with a brief history of the civil rights movement in Mississippi and then examines the recruitment of the summer volunteers, their training, and their deployment throughout the state. The documents, arranged in thematic and roughly chronological chapters, allow students to sift through the evolution of Freedom Summer through speeches, letters, reports, and activist training documents. Document headnotes, a map and images, a chronology, questions to consider, and a bibliography enrich students’ understanding of Freedom Summer.
“The documents are important, powerful, and engrossing. They help to illuminate the struggle in Mississippi from the perspective – and through the voices – of African Americans at the grass-roots level.” - Jason Sokol, University of New Hampshire“The scholarship is the latest and best on the Mississippi civil rights movement. It brings out the indispensable role and voice of black Mississippians and the key role of black Mississippi women.” - Dennis C. Dickerson, Vanderbilt University“The scholarship is excellent. Few of these documents have been widely circulated. Much of what students learn from these documents will be in tension with what they have thought about the movement previously.” - Charles Payne, University of Chicago
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Table of Contents
Preface
List of Maps and Illustrations
PART ONE
Introduction: Organizing for Power at the Grassroots: The Mississippi Summer Project
The Long Black Struggle for Freedom
Organizing Freedom Summer
Community Centers and Freedom Schools
Demanding the Right to Vote
The Atlantic City Challenge
Conclusion
PART TWO
The Documents
1. The Long Black Struggle for Freedom
1. Congress of Racial Equality, Poster Announcing a Mass Meeting where Mrs. Fannie Chaney will Speak, August 27, 1964
2. The NAACP, M is for Mississippi and Murder, 1955
3. State of Mississippi, Voter Registration Form, 1950s
4. Tom Gaither and Robert Moses, Report on Voter Registration—Projected Program, January 27, 1962
5. Charles McLaurin, Notes on Organizing, 1965
6. Charles McLaurin, To Overcome Fear, 1965
7. Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, Memorandum for the President on the use of use of marshals, troops, and other federal personnel for law enforcement in Mississippi, July 1, 1964
8. Annelle Ponder and Fannie Lou Hamer, Describing events in Winona Mississippi, 1963
2. Organizing Freedom Summer
9. Ku Klux Klan, Warning – Citizens of Ruleville, August 27, 1964
10. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Meeting to Discuss Summer Project, January 24, 1964
11. Robert P. Moses, Speech on Freedom Summer at Stanford University, April 24, 1964
12. Hollis Watkins, A Veteran Organizer Explains his Opposition to the Summer Project, 1995
13. Council of Federated Organizations, Guidelines for Interviewing, 1964
14. Council of Federated Organizations, Application form for Andrew Goodman, 1964
15. Council of Federated Organizations, Security Handbook, 1964
16. Council of Federated Organizations, Letter to Freedom School Teachers, 1964
17. Vincent Harding, Freedom Summer Orientation Briefing, 1964
18. Robert F. Kennedy, Memorandum for the President on Expected Violence and Lawlessness in Mississippi, May 21, 1964
19. Lee White, Memorandum for the President on Missing Civil Rights Workers, June 23, 1964
20. Lee White, Memorandum for the President concerning a Request by Parents of the Missing Civil Rights Workers to Meet with the President, June 23, 1964
21. Clarie Collins Harvey, Mississippi Summer Project—Womanpower Unlimited, August 15, 1964
3. Community Centers and Freedom Schools
22. Jane Stembridege and Noel Day, Notes on Teaching in Mississippi, 1964
23. Joyce Brown, The House of Liberty, 1964
24. Liz Fusco, Freedom Schools in Mississippi, 1964
25. The Student Voice, Mississippi Harassment, July 15, 1964
26. Ellen Lake and Bob, Letters home from Student Volunteers, 1964
4. Demanding the Right to Vote
27. Robert Moses, Emergency Memorandum, July 19, 1964
28. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, Report on Civil Rights Activity, January through August 1964
29. Council of Federated Organizations, Platforms and Principles of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, 1964
30. Ella Baker, Key Note Speech before the State Convention of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, August 6, 1964
31. Council of Federated Organizations, List of MFDP Delegates, 1964
32. David Dennis, Eulogy for James Chaney, August 7, 1964
33. Fred Dutton, Memorandum to Bill Moyers Concerning the Mississippi Delegation Problem, August 10, 1964
5. The Atlantic City Challenge
34. Lee White, Memorandum for the President on Dr. King and the Freedom Democratic Party Challenge, August 13, 1964
35. Johnson Tapes concerning Freedom Summer, 1964
36. Fannie Lou Hamer, Remarks Before the Credentials Committee, August 22, 1964
37. Joe Rauh, Letter to Leslie McLemore, June 15, 1965
38. Aaron Henry, Position Paper on the Rejection of the Compromise, August 29, 1964
39. Council of Federated Organizations, To all Friends of the MFDP, 1964
APPENDIXES
A Chronology of Events Related to Freedom Summer (1944-1965)
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Authors
John Dittmer
Jeff Kolnick
Leslie Burl McLemore
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