Freedom Summer & Mississippi Murders
History: KS3, topic 21.1.11
The Freedom Summer and the Mississippi Murders
Between 1962 and 1964 huge efforts were made to get black Americans registered to vote. Many volunteer activists were targeted by racist groups as a result, some of whom were murdered.
Freedom Summer 1964
- Between 1962 and 1964, 700,000 black Americans had registered to vote in the South, but this was still not very many compared to the number of black people who lived there.
- The SNCC and CORE sent 1000 volunteers to Mississippi to increase black voter registration.
KKK opposition
- Many volunteers were white middle class college students who taught people how to pass the voter registration tests.
- They faced huge opposition from the KKK who burnt 37 black churches and 30 homes.
- Only 1,600 out of the 17,000 black people who tried to register to vote were successful.
The Mississippi Murders
- Two CORE activists (one white and one black) and a white volunteer were arrested on 21st June 1964 and murdered on their way home by the KKK.
- Their bodies weren’t found until the 4th August, and the bodies of eight other black men were also found, three of which were CORE workers.
- It was a national scandal.
Test yourself on Freedom Summer & Mississippi Murders
Out of the 17,000 black people who tried to register to vote, how many were successful?