From Bus Boycotts to Black Power: 31 Critical Events That Shaped the Civil Rights Movement 

Freedom Summer Campaign

Hundreds of volunteers traveled to Mississippi in 1964 to register Black voters in America’s most resistant state. Three activists—Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner—were murdered by Klansmen and police in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Volunteers faced constant danger from white supremacist violence throughout the summer. They established “Freedom Schools” teaching Black history and civic engagement. The movement built the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the all-white delegation. Their work highlighted the brutal suppression of voting rights.