Lewis allan was a witness when another black farmer, herbert lee, was murdered for trying register black voters. A civil rights coalition led by snick and the congress of racial equality announced plans for what would come to be called freedom summer. Hundreds of mostly white northern college students gathered in oxford, ohio for week long training sessions sponsored by the national council of churches. Bob zelmer, a white snick staff member from alabama, says volunteers were also given rules for survival in the segregated south: no interial day or night unless necessary.
In the summer of 1964, about a thousand young Americans, black and white, came together in Mississippi to place themselves in the path of white supremacist power and violence. They issued a bold pro-democracy challenge to the nation and the Democratic Party.
Produced by John Biewen, with series collaborator Chenjerai Kumanyika. Interviews with John Lewis, Bob Moses, Unita Blackwell, Hollis Watkins, Dorie Ladner, and many others.
The series editor is Loretta Williams. Freedom song recordings courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways. Other music by Algiers, John Erik Kaada, Eric Neveux, and Lucas Biewen. Music consulting and production help from Joe Augustine of Narrative Music.
Photo: A Freedom Summer worker in Mississippi, 1964. Photo by Steve Schapiro.