Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Report

This historical investigation will explore the question “how did the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s activism contribute to the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?” This will be accomplished using a combination of primary and secondary sources. One primary source that will be utilized is a collection of field reports by SNCC field worker Rev. Bernard LaFayette. The reports cover the month of June in 1963 and are of varying lengths. Each report recounts the occurrences and activities of the day, to record the progress of the SNCC field work in Selma, Alabama.
This source will be helpful in answering the research question because it is a primary account written as the organization was progressing, meaning it captures the

First, the SNCC needed to gain better organization and stronger leadership, this was achieved by joining forces with the Congress of Racial Equality, also known as CORE. Additionally, they needed trained volunteers who would be competent in the field. After teaming up with other civil rights organizations, a total of 600 volunteers were sent to a training in Ohio where they were taught “nonviolent self-defense and how to work courageously in a nonviolent movement” (Ohrenschall). Most of these volunteers were “well-connected white [people] from northern colleges” who were passionate about the cause but more importantly had the education and ability to push the movement forward ("What Was the 1964 Freedom Summer

The party held a convention and elected leaders to send to the Democratic National Convention being held in August. Fannie Lou Hamer of the MFDP gave a televised speech after the delegates were denied their seats. This led to constituents “in many states sen[ding] messages to their delegates urging their support for seating the MFDP” (Ohrenschall). With all of these major movements joining into one, the SNCC gained what it needed most: attention. The immediate effect of the Freedom Summer on Selma was minimal, but its efforts drew the eyes of the nation to the civil rights movement. The media, in its search for shocking news, covered the violent attacks surrounding the Summer as “residents and volunteers were met by… murders, bombings, kidnappings, and torture” ("What Was the 1964 Freedom Summer Project?"). The media coverage raised awareness and that awareness raised support. More people began backing the civil rights movement and urging their representatives to take action against the issues in the