1964: FREEDOM SUMMER

The 24th Amendment to the U S Constitution became law when  South Dakota ratified it on  January 23, 1964.  The Amendment prohibited States from not allowing someone to vote who owed the State any tax.

5 Southern States: Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia had still retained a Poll Tax (watch 5 min video).  

 FREEDOM SUMMER of 1964 marked a turning point in the developing CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.  Volunteers from the north, mostly white middle class college students, with the help of BLACK pastors and churches established over 30 FREEDOM SCHOOLS in MISSISSIPPI (watch video 2:20)

 Less than 7% of BLACKS were registered to vote in the State of Mississippi. Many of the volunteers from the North worked with BLACK community groups to actively help BLACKS to register to vote and to organize. (watch video 3:37)  

Three CORE Volunteers (Mickey Schwerner, James Chaney, &  Andrew Goodman, were working with a BLACK CHURCH to help register BLACKS to vote.  On June 16th, the church was burned by the KKK.  On June 21st the 3 volunteers were arrested by a Philadelphia Police officer.  Released that evening, they disappeared.  With the help of an informant, the FBI found their buried bodies on August 24th.  (Watch PBS video 2:31)   (Watch Pete Seger sing      "Those Three are on My Mind" 2:20)

Shut out of the Democratic Party, many BLACKS formed a new Political Party:  MISSISSIPI FREEDOM DEMOCRATIC PARTY.  The MFDP attended the Democratic Convention in Atlantic City but were rejected by President Johnson and the Democratic Party.

On July 2, 1964 the Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which banned discrimination on the basis of 5 factors:

1. race
2. color
3. religion
4. sex, or
5. national origin

Although extremely significant, it did nothing to prohibit states from limiting BLACK'S  access to voting. (watch video 4:00)