Aaron Henry, Voter Registration, and Freedom Summer

Before the Voting Rights Act of 1965, voting for African Americans was extremely limited. Voter suppression could be seen on the social, economic, and political levels and represented one of the greatest barriers for African Americans to overcome in the mid-20th century. From poll taxes to literacy tests, voting began to seem more like a privledge for some than a right for all. 

The effects of voter suppression can be seen in the voter registration form from Clay County, Mississippi. Many of the questions on the form are targeted, with a clear attempt to weed out voters. The questions ask about the applicant’s religious background and even dedicates two of its three pages to a literacy test, a practice that was later outlawed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Many of the questions were intentionally designed to be hard to understand, which worked to further keep marginalized groups from being able to vote. These discriminatory practices were what inspired organizations such as the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to stand up against the existing voting laws in order to make it a fair system for all.

Aaron Henry, with support from the NAACP and COFO, worked to end voter discrimination. He played a massive part in organizing the Mississippi Freedom Vote, which showed the country that African American voters could have an impact on elections if given the chance. He went on to help register many African American citizens to vote during Freedom Summer in 1964.