History

The Freedom Summer story altered the course of the Civil Rights Movement and transformed a nation, offering a relevant, powerful teacher for future generations. During this present time of social unrest and protest, it is important to teach the next generation about the history, roles, responsibilities and social-emotional capacities undergirding civil rights and social justice.

Originally known as the Mississippi Summer Project, Freedom Summer took place on Oxford, Ohio’s, Western College campus in June 1964. Its participants, about 800 northern college students, learned about history and politics in the South while preparing to register African Americans to vote and to encourage a new political party. At the time, Black Mississippians were barred from Democratic party primaries and caucuses, and the movement sought to challenge the party’s all-white delegation at the Democratic National Convention that August.

Three of those trainees, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman would be murdered by the Ku Klux Klan after beginning their work in Mississippi. These murders focused national and international attention on the efforts of Freedom Summer, serving as a turning point for the civil rights movement.