Talk:Freedom Summer/Archive 1

NAACP
I thought that the NAACP supported Freedom Summer, not oppose it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.149.23.176 (talk) 02:55, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Nothing "Alleged" About Violence
I undid a change that inserted the word "alleged" before the description of Klan and White Citizens Council violence in the first paragraph of the "Violence" section. There is nothing "alleged" about the violence used against Black and white civil rights activists. It is thoroughly documented in history, officially acknowledged today by the state of Mississippi, and in some cases resulted in criminal convictions that were upheld through a lengthy appeals process. For verification, I recommend Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive and Affidavits - both from the University of Southern Mississippi, and there are literally hundreds of other websites and published histories attesting to the widespread pattern of violence used against the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Brucehartford (talk) 16:54, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

April 2007
There are massive spelling errors, can someone with knowledge of this subject analyze how legitimate this paper is? this unsigned post was posted at 23:12, April 28, 2007 by User:24.21.93.102 - signature added by Dbiel (Talk) 03:40, 25 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I have seen a documentary of the Freedom Summer and the activities of the Freedom Democratic Party, and this is all very accurate from what I saw (and what I have seen in my history lectures at UC Berkeley). But this seems to be an excerpt from some other essay and not original content written by someone else.  And it is about the Freedom Democratic Party way too much, not the summer itself and ALL of the civil-rights related activities 169.229.112.131 05:50, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

More about the Freedom Democratic Party...
This seems to be more about the Freedom Democratic Party then the Freedom Summer itself. I think someone may need to change the title to "Freedom Democratic Party." To me, it would just make more sense. Either that or add A LOT more information on the Freedom Summer. 204.234.213.104 13:12, 7 May 2007 (UTC) Stefany


 * An article on Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party already exists. Brucehartford (talk) 16:51, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

MFDP Challenge at the Democratic Convention
The MFDP challenge to the regular Mississippi Democratic delegation was a major outcome of Freedom Summer, and thus it's appropriate to cover it here (there is much more detail in the article on the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party). But I agree, more needs to be written about the other summer activities in Mississippi, and the long-range impact on the volunteers who took part. Dwalls 21:55, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

When

 * Freedom Summer (also known as the Mississippi Summer Project) was a campaign in the United States launched during the summer of 1964.

This time period is ambiguous and clearer wording is needed. It would be better replacing the unnecessary poetic wording "the summer of" with a range of months, so that the article is worded better for a global audience. Because the season gave its name to the event and must therefore be included in the article, it is necessary to include a reference to summer. In this context, it may be best if the wording was something like this: during June/July/August 1964 in the northern hemisphere summer. That is, it should give month names (so people in the tropics and southern hemisphere can date the event more accurately) and also clarify the season. --B.d.mills 04:06, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Bogus allegations of rape
I would really like somebody to show one single indictment, or one conviction, even an accusation, against a white in the South (in this case a White Citizens Council member or Ku Klux Klan member) in regards to rape. The word 'rape' does not belong in the list of crimes/violence as there are no sources cited and the source cited has nothing to do with rape, it has to do with voter intimidation via economic coercion and shootings/beatings. The word 'rape' is a demonizing buzzword that has no place in that article. There is absolutely no factual basis for that claim. To presume that whites who believe race-mixing to be the ultimate sin would engage in such a thing is ridiculous and absurd, to post that they did (in a wikipedia article) without any evidence, is wrong and unfair. Furthermore, direct evidence should be cited if you are going to claim that the Whites Citizen Council engaged in anything other than minor economic and political pressure. I know of no instance of a White Citizens Council member committing arson, let alone murder, let alone rape. user:guest 20:39, 25 June 2008

guest 19:31, 24 June 2008 This semi-signed post was posted by User:76.205.115.38 and lasted edited at 18:01, June 24, 2008 moved by Dbiel (Talk) 03:40, 25 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I assume that you are referring to inclusion of "rape" in the following sentence: "State and local governments, police, the White Citizens' Council and the Ku Klux Klan used murder, arrests, beatings, arson, rape, spying, firing, evictions, and other forms of intimidation and harassment to oppose the project and prevent blacks from registering to vote or achieving social equality." Rape of Black women by white men in the South during that era is well-documented. It was so widespread that the term Paramour Rights was coined to describe it. As I traveled the back roads of the rural South in those days I often came across Black sharecropper families who had blond children from what was often referred to as "Midnight Integration"&mdash;coerced sex between white men with economic, judicial, or physical power over Black women. While opposition on the part of whites to forms of integration that implied social equality&mdash;such as inter-racial marriage&mdash;was widespread, coerced sex between white men and Black women underscored and reinforced the system of social inequality. Black women active in civil rights work were under constant threat of rape as punishment for challenging white authority. But in the 1960s there was a severe social stigma that smeared rape victims&mdash;particularly in the rural South. So Black women raped by white cops or Klansmen rarely spoke of it, and never publicized it. Brucehartford (talk) 16:40, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Freedom on My Mind
Malik, why did you delete the external link to the film Freedom on My Mind from the article Freedom Summer? That's an excellent documentary about the Mississippi Summer Project. Great footage of Bob Moses, Ida Mae Holland, and many others. Clay Carson has good things to say about it. So why delete it? Dwalls (talk) 04:44, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Hi. Somebody associated with the film's distributor has been spamming Wikipedia in the past few days, posting dozens of external links to sites that sell copies of the distributor's films. I thought the commercial link was inappropriate. If you think, on balance, it should be there, please restore it. Thank you. — Malik Shabazz (talk · contribs) 04:54, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the note, Malik. I wondered if it weren't some variety of "spamming" question. In this case I would make an exception.  I've used the film in classes I've taught on the Civil Rights Movement, and it makes a powerful impact.  I've talked about it with several veterans of SNCC and Freedom Summer, and all praise the film.  Probably the best video available on the topic. With your agreement, I'll put it back.  And copy our discussion to the talk page of the article.  Dwalls (talk) 05:46, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Copied to this Talk page for the record by: Dwalls (talk) 05:55, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Sovereignty Commission
I just removed the following material in this edit: This violence was encouraged and supported by the creation in 1956 of the The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission which sought to thwart any efforts designed to further the rights of blacks. It's unquestionably true, and easily sourceable, but I don't see how it fits in that paragraph. I'm just making a note of it here so that interested editors can discuss if, where, and how to include it.&mdash; alf laylah wa laylah (talk) 17:29, 17 February 2014 (UTC)

John Brown Complex
The article refers to "weeding out members who have a John Brown Complex", citation needed. This strikes me as a phrase that requires a source. -Xcuref1endx (talk) 19:25, 1 September 2015 (UTC)


 * This is now ✅ Mitchumch (talk) 20:46, 1 September 2015 (UTC)

Ridiculous and unfounded claims
Many of Mississippi's white residents deeply resented the outsiders and any attempt to change their society. State and local governments, police, the White Citizens' Council and the Ku Klux Klan used murder, arrests, beatings, arson, *rape*, spying, firing, evictions, and other forms of intimidation and harassment to oppose the project and prevent blacks from registering to vote or achieving social equality.[2]

I read through the entire article that was cited as the basis for this claim and found absolutely ZERO mention of rape. While there were reports of harassment, firings, possible murders, and such, I found zero indication of anything even remotely related to accusations of rape. Furthermore, I found nothing about anybody being convicted of a murder, so it stands to reason the claim of rape has no place in that article, on the grounds of fairness. Furthermore, the claim about murder is very dubious as the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the people referenced (in the cited source) remain unknown, as nobody was ever charged, tried, or convicted for the deaths of any of the people referenced in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.205.115.38 (talk) 19:31, 24 June 2008 (UTC)