How Did Freedom Summer Affect The Civil Rights Movement?

During the early 1950s, the civil rights movement started up, protesting inequality among African Americans in the United States. Similar to the Reconstruction Era, the era following the civil war in which the South fought for the freedom of African American slaves, the civil rights movement was America battling its own people for the right to be treated equally. To parallel this, the Freedom Summer movement was a campaign in 1964 where protesters fought against segregation in Mississippi to register African voters. Specifically Mississippi due to its high amount of segregation and resistance to change when compared to other states in the country at the time. The events in Freedom Summer helped accelerate and propel the Civil rights movement

Even after the 19th Amendment was passed, granting women the right to vote, African Americans were still left out of participation. Although they technically could, the system prevented them most of the time as “only 5 percent of blacks were registered to vote.”1 This was due to unfair literacy tests and fees creating obstacles in the voting process. Moreover, the oppression continued as “many of the state's [Mississippi] leading politicians were Klan members.”1 The KKK or Ku Klux Klan, is a white supremacist group, fearing the rise of minorities and counteracting with violence. To fight this, in 1964 the SNCC or the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee organized “sit-ins”2 or peaceful protests to fight the oppression. This became more effective once white Americans joined the movement to create easier influence on the media. Eventually, the Voting Rights act was passed, making it illegal to discriminate against someone, preventing them from voting due to race, religion, sex, etc. Freedom Summer greatly helped African Americans achieve voting

“Despite daily beatings and arrests,”2 the African American people of the South created programs starting change in America politically and socially. “Mississippi Freedom

Democratic Party (MFDP) and elected a separate slate of delegates to the 1964 Democratic National Convention. To underscore both their outrage and their commitment to change.”4 These people stood in the convention hall and voiced their opinions on the matter of violence against African Americans. The SNCC created social awareness through sit-ins. The media would quickly catch on as they could go in front of storefronts or government buildings. This action would benefit the demand for rights and freedom. Moreover, Freedom Summer was an important time of true action and the fight for civil rights. In conclusion, Freedom Summer allowed for equal voting rights, putting a stop to violence, and creating action for social and political change. The relevance of Freedom Summer can even be seen today, in the forms of the LGBTQ+ movement and Black Lives Matter. Both of these movements use both protests and usage of media to get government attention and change. Freedom Summer was crucial to bring a start to acquiring equality across our entire