Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
How did the Freedom Summer Progress Civil Rights? - Coggle Diagram
How did the Freedom Summer Progress Civil Rights?
What was the Freedom Summer?
The Freedom Summer was a campaign organized by NAACP, CORE, SNCC and SCLC and launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African American voters as possible in Mississippi.
In Mississippi, black people had been restricted from voting due to barriers to voter registration and other laws.
The campaign set up dozens of Freedom Schools, Freedom Houses, and community centers in small towns throughout the state to help the local African American population.
There was lots of violence and the campaign was subject to white racist bombings.
People involved in the Freedom Summer
About 1,000 volunteers went to Mississippi to work with local campaigners.
Most of these volunteers were white college students from wealthy families, who were chosen because they could pay their way.
If there was any violence against these white students, it would make bigger news because of their class and colour.
Some of these taught in Freedom Schools for black children, while others held voter registration classes to teach black locals how to pass the voter registration tests.
It was very significant that white students were taking part because it meant that if anything happened to them it would be well publicized and it meant that more people were getting behind and supporting the Civil Rights movement.
Consequences of the Freedom Summer
After the Freedom Summer, there were 1,600 more black Americans registered to vote in Mississippi, but over 17,000 tried to register.
The Freedom Summer made people aware of the problems of registering to vote, but people were beaten up, lost their jobs and were even murdered.
Opposition to the Freedom Summer
Volunteers knew that they were putting themselves and black Mississippians in danger.
White Mississippians called the campaign an invasion and said that northern students didn't understand the South.
There were over 10,000 KKK (Ku Klux Klan) members in Mississippi.
Before the campaign, the KKK burned 61 crosses to show their power and anger. During the Freedom Summer they burned 37 black churches and 30 homes, the beat up many of the volunteers and local African Americans. Many black people lost their jobs, and although 17,000 black people tried to register only 1,600 succeeded.
The Mississippi Murders
3 people were murdered by the KKK during the Freedom Summer - Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney.
On 21 June Michael Schwerner (a white CORE worker), Andrew Goodman (a white volunteer) and James Chaney (a black CORE worker) were arrested by State Troopers while during to Schwerner's home. That evening at around 10pm, they were released. On their way back home they were murdered by the KKK.
Did it help progress Civil Rights?
In some way it did ways to help progress Civil Rights as it made awareness of the Civil Rights struggle in the South, but only 1,600 people got registered to vote and there was still a large amount of violence against both black and white activists. To conclude, I think it helped to progress Civil Rights because it made people aware of the voting issues and marked a point where wealthy, white students took action to help the Civil Rights movement.