1963 Freedom Vote
Freedom Summer was only possible because of years of earlier work by numerous African Americans who lived locally in Mississippi. In 1963, SNCC organized a mock "Freedom Vote" designed to demonstrate the will of Black Mississippians to vote, if not impeded by terror and intimidation. The Mississippi voting procedure at the time required Blacks to fill out a 21 question registration form and answer to the satisfaction of the white registrar, a question on interpretation of any one of 285 sections of the state constitution. Volunteers set up polling places in Black churches and business establishments across Mississippi. After registering on a simple registration form Voters would select candidates to run in the following year's election. Candidates included Rev. Edwin King of Tougaloo College and Aaron Henry, from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Local civil rights workers and volunteers along with students from Stanford and Yale, organized and implemented the mock election, in which tens of thousands voted.
Read more about this topic: Freedom Summer
Famous quotes containing the words freedom and/or vote:
“If parents award freedom regardless of whether their children have demonstrated an ability to handle it, children never learn to see a clear link between responsible behavior and adult privileges.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“The fact that a man is to vote forces him to think. You may preach to a congregation by the year and not affect its thought because it is not called upon for definite action. But throw your subject into a campaign and it becomes a challenge.”
—John Jay Chapman (1862–1933)