SNCC’s Notice of a Hearing in Response to Violence in Mississippi

In response to violence in Mississippi, The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee sent out this letter with various materials attached to inform the public of a hearing being held in Washington D.C. The purpose of the hearing is to inform Washington of the injustices occurring in Mississippi. The hearing was held in hopes to gain national support for volunteers in the summer project who were being harmed by the violence caused by people who reject the possibility of more black voters in Mississippi. 

Within this letter there are other documents sent out as well. This includes a poster with the basic information about the hearing and a paper explaining the necessity of the trial. 

Another incredibly important part of this file is the handwritten note from Graham Lacy to Mississippi Senator John C. Stennis. This is important because Stennis was known for being against the Civil Rights Act. Although this is not confirmed, it can be inferred that Stennis was mailed this letter from Lacy in an attempt to stop any action being taken in Mississippi to stop the violence against the volunteers and people trying to register to vote. 

This poster, created and sent out by The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, informs recipients of the basic information of the trial being held in Washington D.C. The SNCC was founded in 1960 in an effort to work side-by-side with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as the student branch. However, SNCC began to start their own projects and funding, so it slowly separated from the SCLC. Since then and all throughout the Civil Rights Movement, the SNCC has held a major role in campaigning for equal rights for African Americans. Students all over America have gotten involved. This organization allowed these students to do their part in the fight for freedom. 

One way in which they were able to help is by volunteering in Mississippi to register black voters. They were met with violence, however. In response, the SNCC called for a trial in hopes to stop the violence in Mississippi. Overall, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee played a major role in Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Movement. Without this organization, major developments in voting and school would have been slowed. 

The final document that was included in this letter was a paper detailing the reasoning for a hearing. The paper details the many atrocities that occurred in Mississippi, showing the necessity for informing the President of the violence. These injustices include cross-burnings, police intimidation to reduce the number of black registered voters, families removed from homes and jobs, murders and more. These injustices are in response to freedom summer, which is a movement in Mississippi to educate African Americans so they will pass the literacy test to be able to vote. In essence, it is a large voter registration drive. 

The letter also details the understanding of the summer project from many outside perspectives. Some believe that the violence in Mississippi is coming from the Summer Project. However, this is not true in the slightest. The goal of the hearing is to let it be known to Washington and all outside voices that Freedom Summer is a peaceful movement, and the violence is coming from the aggressive group that is firmly against the summer project.

There are two specific points that the letter outlines that they want President Johnson to do to stop violence in Mississippi. The first is that he meets with Governor Johnson of Mississippi and instructs him to stop law enforcement from preventing and damaging the process that is freedom summer. The second objective that the representatives will encourage President Johnson to employ is to inform the Governor that allowing these activities to take place is a constitutional right, and if he does not allow these activities to take place, President Johnson will take action. 

Hearings like this one helped to give support to the Freedom Summer movement. The Hearing was a small piece of the puzzle in giving rights to black people in America.