Mississippi Freedom Summers In The 1960's

The “Freedom Summers” in the the 1960’s forever changed the United States, empowering black communities to take action, in favor of change. Change is neither fast or easy, with it brings sadness and hardship along the way as the many volunteers of the Mississippi Freedom Summers learned throughout the most violent summer in Mississippi since Reconstruction. The quest for change in the voting laws of Mississippi brought with it death and tragedy along the way. It is in the hardest and lowest moments where the movement defined itself. There is beauty in the struggle and ugliness in the success, and the volunteers of the Mississippi Freedom Summers demonstrated this throughout. The Freedom Summer Project’s goal was to change voter registration

While many were scared and discontinued there part in the movement out of fear. Some like Ella Baker used it as a rallying cry to all. As Ella Baker put in her keynote speech before the the state convention of Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party on August 6, 1964, her speechaddresing the murders of movement volunteers concluded with , “It means we have challenged the power of the state of Mississippi at it’s achilles heel… And this is why we get the resistance to registration and voting”(Ella Baker, Keynote Speech before the state convention of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, August 6, 1964, 127,128). The murders had proven the legitimacy of the power of the movement as the opposition did all in there power to try and stop it. The movement continued on anyway determined to succeed in the efforts with this adversity showing the legitimacy of the volunteers

Throughout that summer members faced acts of violence and even murder, but through the advisory there was a fire that could not be extinguished. Activists learned that death and pain may happen along the way but the outcome and mission were more important than themselves to give up. By continuing on the empowered and inspired others. Without that the change would never had happen. Through the obstacles the project faced it found strength and identity. The Mississippi Summer Project was integral to the civil rights movement and while ultimately it did not lead to the direct outcomes desired by those involved, it brought on change that lead to such. The project changed the nation forever as without it events like the election of the forty fourth president of the united states Barack Obama an african american man would never have taken place. The activists through this experience came to the important understanding that that fear does not have to stop change, it can be used to fuel it. The civil rights movement adopted what was learned in Mississippi and used it to continue their mission well past the summer of