VOTE! Revisiting Freedom Summer

Freedom Schools: Beacons of Hope
In the summer of 1964, out-of-state volunteers, commonly referred to as Freedom Riders, and Black Mississippians came together for the Freedom Summer Project. This project was designed to draw attention to the oppression and disenfranchisement of Black individuals in Mississippi. An important component of the project was the establishment of Freedom Schools, which were often situated in Black churches. Freedom Schools served to supplement the inferior education Black youths received during the school year in the still-segregated public school system. These schools were also used to educate Black citizens on how to register to vote, which required the applicant to be literate and knowledgeable of American civics. This work was extremely dangerous. Black churches were often burned due to hosting Freedom Schools., and many volunteers and Black Mississippians were arrested, beaten, and, in some cases, murdered for their efforts.

Voting Rights for All
Today, voting is considered a basic right for all citizens; however, that has not always been the case. In the south, Jim Crow laws were utilized to legalize racial segregation and touched everything from education to employment to the right to vote. In 1964, with the influence of the Freedom Summer Project, over 17,000 Black residents would attempt to register to vote. From this number, only 1,600 applications were accepted by local registrars.[1] The efforts taken during the summer of 1964 highlighted the need for federal voting rights legislation and would help provide momentum for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Remnants of Freedom Summer
The items on display illustrate the different perspectives and experiences before, during, and after the summer of 1964. These items were selected by undergraduate students enrolled in Critical Writing and Research for Literary Studies in Spring 2024 and come from collections located in the Division of Archives and Special Collections at Mississippi State University Libraries.

[1] “Freedom Summer.” The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/freedom-summer. Accessed 21 March 2024.