Active in Mississippi Freedom Summer Blacklist

The Mississippi Summer Project was another name given to the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964. The list shown is compiled of 11 names of people who were active participants in the Summer Project. Among the people named are the then leader of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), members of the National Lawyers Guild, and people who associated with them. This list was made by an unknown person who worked on Capitol Hill, as there are handwritten notes located on a series of notepads that have the United States Senate letterhead at the top. It was made sometime around the Summer Project in 1964. The goal of this list was to show alleged communist links between those 11 people who were named and were active in the Freedom Summer in order to raise questions about them and their work. 

Bringing up questions regarding the possible links between these people and communists was an efficent way to discredit someone during this period of American history. This was during a time in which the Cold War was still ongoing between the United States and the Soviet Union, and a time in which people were deeply suspicous of others. During this time, the general public was still paranoid of communists infiltrating society. Mindful of this, this list had the goal of turning public opinion agaisnt the movement by associating it with communists, which shows the extent peolpe in power went to in an attempt to dismiss the Summer project as a group of radicals causing havoc.

This attempt to discredit and cover up the actual work being done in the Mississippi Summer Project by some of the most powerful people in the country brings up some questions. Why try and cover up such a good thing? Why use slander as a means to achieve this? What impact did this list have on the careers and lives of the people who were named? While answers don't exsist for each question, some do. The attempt to ruin this project in the public's opinion stemmed from the fact that Southern lawmakers did not want equal rights. Slander was used because of how easy and effective it was. This list shows how hard people fought back against the Mississippi Freedom Summer and how important it is that it is known.