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Freedom Summer: Before Freedom

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“Before Freedom Summer and the changes it jump-started, Mississippi was a place where a black body floating in a muddy river was as common as a snake.” (Pg. 10) Freedom Summer embodied the spirt of change; change that needed to take place, not in Mississippi alone, but in all of America! Blacks were terrorized and taught to “stay in their place” for far too long, which deprived them of actual life as America’s concerns focused on an “unbearable whiteness of being.” (Pg 5) Had Freedom Summer not have occurred, we would still be lost as a society focusing on color and differences rather than decency and brotherhood of all people. “Mississippi changed everything for anyone who was there.” (Pg 13) Mississippi in 1963, was a land for barbarians
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To begin, he uses emotional appeal to create powerful imagery to persuade the reader that celebrating freedom is wrong when slavery still exists. He announces, “fellow citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions, whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are today rendered more intolerable by the jubilant shouts that reach them” (para. 4). By creating a picture in the audience’s mind of other people’s cries of freedom deriding slaves, they begin to feel ashamed for being so cheerful while African Americans have no liberty. The readers have recognized that they are being hypocrites by supporting slavery while boasting about their freedom as a country, which leads them to begin wanting to

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and Frederick Douglass were two of the greatest abolitionists, writers, and statesmen to ever exist; devoting their life's work to tirelessly fight for the rights of African Americans. During the span of their lives, the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" took America by storm and have left a tangible impact on American history. In these acclaimed works, Dr. King and Douglass both use appeals to sadness to elaborate on the vile treatment of African Americans, evidence-based arguments to expose the corruption in the American church and justice system, careful, calculated, and persuasive language to establish their credibility. It is clear that speeches, essays, works of art, and music produced during a civil rights movement is nothing short of powerful, provocative, and most of the time, painful; but they are absolutely

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Douglass expresses to his spectators, while they dwell in the luxurious ability to partake in this joyous celebration of freedom for a nation, not everyone in that nation is sharing in the celebration. In The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro, he writes “The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you and not by me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn” (Douglass 1).

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The freedom summer not only got Mississippi African Americans the right to vote but their first real political voice. The film immerses the viewer in the landscape of Mississippi in 1964, it shows the political tension and the dangers faced by those surrounding the mission of the Freedom Summer. The beginning of the film sets the mood of Mississippi during the start of the civil rights movement. Stanley Nelson uses newsreels from Mississippi in the early sixties to demonstrate how deeply racism and discrimination were ingrained into political and social climate of the south.

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Douglass establishes his credibility and authority on the issue of slavery and inequality in the United States by drawing on his own experience and expertise. He begins the speech by introducing himself as a former slave and expressing his sadness and disappointment at the Fourth of July festivities which celebrate the nation’s independence while ignoring the ongoing oppression of African Americans. He says, “I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us.” By acknowledging his own identity as a former slave, Douglass gives himself immediate credibility on the issue of slavery and inequality.

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In Frederick Douglass’s The Meaning of Fourth of July for the Negro, he exposes the hypocrisy and iniquity that is infused into considerably one of the most prolific American moments in history known as The Fourth of July. Douglass, who was a former slave that eventually reached freedom, was invited to speak about what Fourth of July meant for the black population within America. Although Douglass provided much gratitude to the Founding Fathers for their courage and ability to oppose oppressive systems, he criticizes the American country for its involvement within slavery. Slavery served as the foundation that constructed America, allowing for it fuel the economy and develop into a cultural and political norm within society.

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The next paragraph is where he uses logical appeal more like common sense but frederick douglass says that “ this fourth of july is yours, not mine” saying that the fourth was not made for him but for the white people because they are treated different from the whites and they are not free like them even tho all people should be free because that 's why we have the fourth of july to celebrate the independence and freedom of america not the free and the enslaved of people and this really has an impact on the audience because it makes them wonder why did we have slaves why did we not free everyone like what if we were in that position that they are in during this time like would we have done the same thing as frederic or say what they wanted to hear a big lie because blacks are not part of the celebration your just there for them when really it 's a big big disappointment to the country and the people

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After watching her father fight hard for a case he was bound to loose, hearing all the mean names her family and Tom was called and hearing the news of Tom’s death she began to understand the reality of racism. “Just what I said. Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he's turned out a nigger-lover we'll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He's ruinin' the family, that's what he's doin'.” (Lee, 110)

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