| Existing comment:
Hundreds of college students gathered in Oxford, Ohio, in June 1964 to train for the Freedom Summer campaign, led by Robert Moses of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. They were trained to resist violence, but they knew their mission was dangerous. Mississippi, one of the most fiercely segregated states in the country, fought integration with violence and intimidation. Poll taxes, literacy tests and fear of reprisals kept most blacks from voting. Warned that they were likely to be arrested, students brought $500 for bail. In Mississippi, police stockpiled tear gas and riot guns. |