Freedom Summer

Freedom Summer is a free digital learning tool that explores key events surrounding the early years of the Civil Rights Movement, the 1964 Mississippi voter registration drive, and the eventual passage of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Students have the opportunity to analyze 20 primary sources depicting images of civil rights events and to evaluate how they might connect to state actions and Congressional legislation. Analysis of a variety of primary sources and supplemental information leads students to identify varying perspectives and predict potential outcomes. Two views, a card deck and a bulletin board, allows students to interact with the materials in multiple formats.

In Freedom Summer…

· Players discover how events of the Civil Rights Movement and concurrent events in Congress impacted each other and the role that both Congress and individuals play in representative democracy.

· Players are presented with a series of 20 historic events and are required to predict the consequences of each event.

· Players learn about the individuals and officials that played pivotal roles in the Civil Rights Movement and the contentious Congressional battle that led to the creation of the Civil Rights Act.

Freedom Summer includes…

· Biographies of 20 individuals that supported and opposed civil rights legislation.

· Further Exploration notes to help place events in their historical context.

· A photo Gallery of more than 80 primary source images from the Library of Congress and other sources.