The Mississippi Freedom Summer Project attempted to highlight and rectify the political disenfranchisement of African Americans in the Jim Crow South. Civil rights activists began with a statewide voter registration drive, but ultimately mounted a challenge to Democratic Party leadership at the Atlantic City convention in August of 1964. In your opinion, did Freedom Summer succeed in accomplishing its goals? Why or why not?
In answering this question, consider the following:
What were the specific goals of Freedom Summer? Its broader goals?
What parts of the project succeeded? What parts failed? How and why?
What changed in Mississippi and in the United States as a result of the project?
To prepare for the essay, examine the “Interpret the Evidence” questions at the end of the Document Project. Be sure to read the introduction to the Documents Project and the individual introductions to the primary sources for context.
Book: Exploring American Histories
Second Edition
Nancy A. Hewitt
Steven F. Lawson