SouthTalks: Continuing the Legacy of Freedom Summer

Continuing the Legacy of Freedom Summer • A Panel Discussion between Freedom Project Network, Mississippi Votes, 1964 Freedom Summer Veterans, and Faculty Fellow W. Ralph Eubanks • Wednesday, March 20 at 5 p.m.

The overarching goal of the Mississippi Summer Project—known as Freedom Summer—was to empower Black Mississippians to participate in local, state, and national elections. Education and activism stood as pillars of Freedom Summer, and the work that was done in the summer of 1964 was designed to draw the nation’s attention to the violent oppression experienced by Black Mississippi residents who attempted to exercise their constitutional rights. The most important goal of this group of activists—over 700 college students took part in Freedom Summer—was to develop a grassroots freedom movement that could be sustained after student activists left Mississippi.

“Continuing the Legacy of Freedom Summer” will explore the heritage of the ways local people in Mississippi were empowered to continue the work of Freedom Summer. Through the experiences of activists and educators, both past and present, this forum will not only explore the lessons of Freedom Summer but also examine the work that continues sixty years later in education and voting rights.

The panelists include:

LaToysha Brown, Executive Director of the Freedom Project Network
MacArthur Cotton, Freedom Summer Veteran and a Board Member with the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, Inc.
Margaret Kibbee, Freedom Summer Veteran and Secretary for the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, Inc.
Karanja Matory, Policy and Research Analyst at MS Votes
Markyel Pittman, Youth Civic Engagement Coordinator

W. Ralph Eubanks will serve as moderator for this discussion. Eubanks is a Writer-in-Residence and Faculty Fellow at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture.