Freedom Summer Murders Research Paper

Introduction The Freedom Summer Murders was the murder of 3 civil rights activists by the KKK after the men drove through Neshoba County, Mississippi to investigate the burning of the local black church. The murders took place on the night of June 21st, 1964. The bodies of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were discovered 6 weeks after the FBI’s investigation began and seven of the eighteen men indicted were charged, however none were charged with murder. The question I aim to answer in this essay is: How were the Freedom Summer Murders a turning point for Black Civil Rights?

Hypothesis The Freedom Summer Murders were a turning point for Black Civil Rights because it showed Americans that the civil rights workers were making a big change across the country, especially with the passing of

Even 30 years earlier it was practically unheard of for white people in the south to face any charges for their crimes against Black people, this makes the prosecution of 7 of the men involved that much more important. 2. What is the difference between a'smart' and a'smart'? CAUSES (approx. 3) -. 500 words) The first underlying cause of the summer murders was the Freedom Vote of 1963/64. This was a mock election to try to educate and encourage more Black people to vote in their local elections, and to try to combat the discrimination and intimidation of Black voters. This was an underlying cause of the murders because Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner were part of the ‘Freedom Summer’ campaign as volunteers that travelled to the deep south and other rural areas to work with the Black communities. The KKK was aware of most of the civil rights work being done, making volunteers targets to the deep ingrained racism of the south, one of the leaders of the Freedom Summer campaign Bob Moses even stated “You could be heckled, you could be attacked, you