During the summer of 1964, more than a thousand individuals
descended on Mississippi to help the state's African American
citizens register to vote. Student organizers, volunteers, and
community members canvassed black neighborhoods to organize the
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), a group that sought to
give a voice to black Mississippians and demonstrate their will to
vote in the face of terror and intimidation.
In For a Voice and the Vote, author Lisa Anderson Todd gives a
fascinating insider's account of her experience volunteering in
Greenville, Mississippi, during Freedom Summer, when she
participated in assembling the MFDP. Innovative and integrated, the
party worked to provide education, candidates, and local and
statewide organization for blacks who were denied the vote. For
Todd, it was an exciting, dangerous, and life-changing experience.
The summer culminated with the 1964 Atlantic City Democratic
Convention, where the MFDP fought boldly for the opportunity to be
included as the voting Mississippi delegation but, when they
ultimately refused the Democrats' unacceptable terms, were
criticized as politically na?ve, militant protestors.
This firsthand account attempts to set the record straight about
the MFDP's challenge to the convention and to shed light on the
efforts of this dedicated, loyal, and courageous delegation.
Offering the first full account of the group's five days in
Atlantic City, For a Voice and the Vote draws on oral histories,
the author's personal interviews of individuals who supported the
MFDP in 1964, and other primary sources.
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