The High Tide of the Movement 1955-1965 · Spring Term

The Race Relations Act (1965)

Students will evaluate the impact of the 1965 Race Relations Act, the first anti-discrimination legislation in Britain, and its role in challenging racial prejudice.

About This Topic

This topic examines the 1964 Freedom Summer, a massive campaign to register Black voters in Mississippi, and the subsequent challenge to the national Democratic Party by the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). Students analyse how SNCC and CORE recruited hundreds of white Northern students to bring national attention to the 'closed society' of Mississippi. The murder of three civil rights workers (Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner) by the KKK highlighted the extreme risks of the campaign.

At Year 13, students evaluate the significance of Fannie Lou Hamer's testimony at the Democratic National Convention and the rift it caused between grassroots activists and the liberal establishment. They consider how Freedom Summer exposed the limitations of interracial cooperation and led to a growing sense of disillusionment within SNCC. This topic is best explored through collaborative investigations of the MFDP's challenge and by analysing the 'Mississippi way of life' through primary source documents.

Active Learning Ideas

Inquiry Circle: The MFDP Challenge

Groups research the 1964 Democratic National Convention. They must explain why the MFDP refused the 'compromise' of two at-large seats and present on how this event led to a loss of faith in the Democratic Party among young activists.

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Generate mission

Think-Pair-Share: The Impact of the Murders

Students discuss why the disappearance of the three workers received so much more media attention than the many previous murders of Black Mississippians. They evaluate whether the strategy of 'using white students as shields' was effective or problematic.

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Generate mission

Stations Rotation: Freedom Schools

Stations feature the curriculum and goals of the Freedom Schools established during the summer. Students rotate to identify how these schools aimed to help the Black community beyond just voter registration.

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Generate mission

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Freedom Summer was a huge success in terms of voter registration numbers.

What to Teach Instead

Only about 1,200 new voters were actually registered due to extreme state obstruction. Peer discussion of these low numbers helps students see that the real success was in nationalising the issue and exposing the brutality of Mississippi's system.

Common Misconception

The MFDP was just a small, fringe group.

What to Teach Instead

The MFDP had over 80,000 members and was a legitimate challenge to the all-white regular Democratic Party. Using a station rotation to look at their membership drives helps students see the scale of the grassroots organising involved.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the goal of Freedom Summer?

The primary goal was to register as many Black voters as possible in Mississippi, which had the lowest registration rate in the country. The organisers also wanted to set up 'Freedom Schools' and 'Freedom Houses' to provide education and community services, and to bring national media attention to the state's systemic racism.

Who was Fannie Lou Hamer?

Fannie Lou Hamer was a sharecropper and a powerful leader in the MFDP. Her televised testimony at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, where she described the brutal beatings she received for trying to register to vote, shocked the nation and challenged the legitimacy of the all-white Mississippi delegation.

Why did Freedom Summer lead to a rift in the movement?

Many Black activists felt that the national media only cared about the violence when white students were the victims. The failure of the Democratic Party to seat the MFDP also led many young SNCC members to believe that working within the system was futile, paving the way for the later shift toward Black Power.

How can active learning help students understand Freedom Summer?

Active learning, such as investigating the MFDP challenge, helps students understand the complex relationship between grassroots activism and national politics. By engaging with the Freedom School curriculum, students see the movement's focus on long-term support. This approach helps them appreciate the strategic depth and the emotional toll of the 1964 campaign.

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