Freedom Summer

The Freedom Summer was a campaign that took place in Mississippi in the summer of 1964.  It was organized with the help of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and was directed by Robert Moses.

The main objectives of the Freedom Summer were to organize the Freedom Democratic Party, to challenge the white-only Mississippi Democratic party, increase black voter registration in Mississippi, open the community centers to blacks seeking medical and legal assistance, and set up Freedom Schools.

The Freedom Summer was a success because as a result of the Freedom Summer, students who attended the Freedom Schools showed greater confidence in themselves, and the percentage of black voters increased. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party ensured that there would never be a completely white delegation again, and the Freedom Summer was also a big help towards the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in voting practices because of race and color.


-
An image of people helping support "Freedom Summer" campaign.





Based on the outcomes of the events you chose, do you think violent or nonviolent protest strategies were more effective?


I would think non violent protest strategies are more effective. The events I chose were all successful towards the civil rights movement. All these events were non violent events. I think non violence is the key to successful protest strategies because non violence protests demonstrate real strength,courage,and self-control.

Selma to Montgomery Marches

The Selma to Montgomery marches, which included Bloody Sunday, were three marches that marked the emotional and political peak of the American civil rights movement. They were the culmination of the movement in Selma for voting rights, launched by Amelia Boynton Robinson and her husband, who brought many prominent leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement to Selma, including  Jim Bevel, Hosea Williams, and Martin Luther King Jr..

The first march occurred on "Bloody Sunday", March 7, 1965, when 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by local and state police with tear gas and billy clubs. Only the third and last marchers successfully marched into Montgomery. The route is memorialized as the Selma to Montgomery National Trail.

This event was also supposed to be a non-violent march, but it was violent due to the fact that police were attacking the marchers.

The marches had a powerful effect in Washington. After witnessing TV coverage of "Bloody Sunday," President Lyndon B. Johnson met with Governor George Wallace in Washington to discuss with him the civil rights situation in his state.Two nights later, on March 15, 1965, Johnson presented a bill to a joint session of Congress. The bill itself would later pass and become the Voting Rights Act. Johnson's speech in front of Congress was considered to be a watershed moment for the civil rights movement.

-The event known as "Bloody Sunday".

March On Washington

The March on Washington was an interracial march by 250,000 blacks and whites on August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C., protesting job discrimination and segregation against African-Americans in the nation. It is also known as March for Freedom and Jobs.

The event began with a rally at the Washington Monument featuring several musicians and celebrities.. Participants then marched the mile-long Mall to the Lincoln Memorial. The three-hour program at the Lincoln Memorial included speeches from important religious and civil rights leaders, including one of the most famous speeches ever made, the " I have a Dream" speech, made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They finished the day with march leaders meeting President John F. Kennedy at the White House.

This event was non-violent because the event was a march. There was no violence involved.

This event was definitely considered a success. It had been powerful, yet peaceful and orderly beyond anyone's expectations. It was, according to most historians, "the high tide of that phase of the Civil Rights Movement." Also the march was successful in pressuring the John F. Kennedy administration to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill in Congress.