This year marks the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer, a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement when hundreds of activists, many of them young students, traveled to Mississippi in 1964 to challenge racial segregation and fight for voting rights for African Americans.
The Mississippi State University Libraries will commemorate the anniversary with several events and exhibits throughout the year, beginning with “Freedom Summer: The Summer That Changed Democracy in America” on Friday at 1 p.m. The lecture will feature Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore, a founding member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, civil rights leader, and professor at Jackson State University. He will focus on his first-hand experiences and emphasize the importance of preserving democracy in America.
Organized by DeeDee Baldwin, Associate Professor and Engagement Librarian, the event is free and open to the public. Baldwin said she reached out to Dr. McLemore because she wants MSU students to understand the importance of what happened 60 years ago—not just from textbooks or newspaper articles, but from someone who lived it.
“I want Mississippi State students to have an opportunity to meet a Freedom Summer leader as we celebrate the 60th anniversary. The Freedom Summer of 1964 changed America forever,” Baldwin said. “The past can seem very far away to young people, so it's incredibly valuable and moving to hear from veterans of the Civil Rights Movement firsthand. It's an opportunity and a privilege that won't be available to future generations.”
In 1972, McLemore became the founding chairman and professor of Jackson State University’s political science department and later served as dean of the university’s graduate school. In 2010, he took on the role of interim president of the university and was named Professor Emeritus after retiring in 2012. He is also a former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) activist and director of the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy.
Visitors to Mitchell Memorial Library will have the opportunity to see two distinct exhibits celebrating the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer.
Carrie Mastley, Assistant Professor and Curator of Material Culture, said she and her colleagues Lauren Gieger, Digital Archivist and Assistant Professor, and KC New, Assistant Professor and Digital Humanities Librarian, worked with students enrolled in Spring 2024 sections of Critical Writing and Research in Literary Studies to create both a physical exhibit (located on the second floor) and an online exhibit.
“While working on this project, I learned many students know little about Freedom Summer —some had never heard of it. This reinforced our commitment to telling this story in different ways and in various areas of the Library,” Mastley said. “I hope students understand that many of the activists pushing this movement forward were no older than they are now. I also hope they realize how hard these young people worked to earn the right to vote and never take their own right to vote for granted.”
Mastley and Kate Gregory, Assistant Professor / Director, Mississippi Political Collections, curated the exhibit on display in the Stennis / Montgomery Conference Room, located on the third floor of Mitchell Memorial Library. The design was created by Dianna Janus, graphic designer.
“The artifacts on display demonstrate the breadth of Civil Rights history documented in MSU Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections,” Gregory said. “The exhibit includes original documents and broadsides representing the century-long fight for Black voting rights, from the 19th century to the 21st."
“From the Mississippi Political Collections, there is an original broadside from Reconstruction-era Lowndes County that was widely distributed among the community, listing by name the Black men who voted Republican in a state then dominated by segregationist white Democrats - an example of measures taken to incite fear among the Black community and suppress the vote in the late 1800s,” she added.
Library personnel hope MSU faculty, staff, and students will take advantage of Friday’s lecture—which will be held in the John Grisham Room with a reception immediately following—as well as the exhibits commemorating Freedom Summer.
“The library is honored to host such a distinguished and accomplished guest,” said Derek Marshall, Interim Associate Dean for Research, Faculty Engagement & Campus Outreach. “Dr. McLemore’s story is an important one to be shared with our community to gain a better understanding of our state and country’s history and the work that must be continued for our democracy.”
