Interpret the Evidence and Put It in Context

1. What did local blacks think of white volunteers in the Freedom Summer project (Document 26.6)? What were the advantages and disadvantages of bringing white volunteers to Mississippi?

2. Why were voter registration and political organizing the focus of Freedom Summer (Document 26.5)? Why did the project also include freedom schools?

3. What arguments did the Charleston Post (Document 26.7) make to discredit Freedom Summer? Compare these arguments to the goals for the project as expressed in the Freedom Summer Prospectus (Document 26.5).

4. How did Fannie Lou Hamer use the testimony of her experience in a Mississippi jail (Document 26.8) to gain support for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party?

5. Do you think President Johnson’s views toward seating the MFDP delegation (Document 26.9) were consistent with his vision of the Great Society? Explain.