The Civil Rights Movement In The Mississippi Delta

The Civil Rights Movement in the Mississippi Delta The Civil Rights Movement is usually seen as a social movement primarily throughout the Southern states during the 1950’s and throughout the 1960’s. However, the movement is taught by giving specific points, events, places, and people. The Civil Rights Movement in some regions such as the Mississippi Delta is not credited enough in history. The movement found crucial support inside of the Mississippi Delta due to its population being predominately African American. The Mississippi Delta played a key role not only in the movement, but in its development from encompassing Civil Rights activist, movements, tragic events, and more.

To understand the movement, it is important to know the history

One of the basic rights African Americans struggled to obtain was the right to vote. In 1870, the 15th Amendment was ratified. The amendment stated that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” (U.S. Constitution). As this was thought as a victory, it was soon to be seen that it was anything but. White men in the nation saw this as a threat and improvised new ways to prevent African Americans to vote such as the installment of poll taxes, literacy test, and the “grandfather clause”. In Litwin’s book, Fighting for the Right to Vote, Litwin explains how Mississippi Delta activist, Fannie Lou Hamer assisted other African Americans in registering to vote and helping them gain a voice in the movement. Voting was not the only place where African Americans fell short of capabilities. Due to Jim Crow laws, African Americans could not do such basic things as ride first-class passenger on a primarily white train or a bus. A lady known as Rosa Parks in the neighboring state of Alabama found herself facing charges when she refused to give up her seat on the bus during the time of the movement. The Jim Crow laws were created to prevent African Americans from making any advancements that could potentially threaten white

The Civil Rights Movement had a remarkable success during the summer of 1964. During 1964, committees such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) recruited members to work in the efforts of the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi to what became known as Freedom Summer. The project was meant to be a nonviolent effort to integrate Mississippi’s political system but was faced with violence. college students traveled to Mississippi to help register black. The predominantly white students established "freedom schools" to educate black school children, and organized voter registration drives throughout the state. The student volunteers, most importantly, helped to establish the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). However, it was a Mississippi native, Amzie Moore that brought the SNCC into Mississippi. Moore met New York native, Robert Moses during the Freedom Summer of 1964. When Moses arrived in Mississippi, he saw that there was a lack of student organizations in the state and discussed the possibilities of it with Moore. Moore’s dedication to the movement inspired Moses to put the idea of voter registration into the SNCC’s agenda (Carson). Although the movement had great support, it also had even greater opposition. For instance, the Citizens Councils which was founded in Indianola, Mississippi during the 1950’s. The council was a