Existing comment:
Volunteers went door-to-door in Mississippi's poorest countries to register black voters. They organized 41 Freedom Schools to teach black history and leadership skills to children. But the price they paid was high. By summer's end, three Freedom Summer workers had been murdered, dozens of activists had been beaten, more than 1,000 were arrested and more than 60 black churches, homes and businesses were torched and bombed. Local officials -- intent on maintaining the segregated system -- rejected nearly all the voter registration applications, sparking a call for national voting rights legislation. |