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Know Ohio: Freedom Summer

In 1964, civil rights activists hatched a plan to enlist volunteers to move down to Mississippi for the summer and help African Americans register to vote and get an education, but before heading south, the 800 volunteers met right here in Ohio. It was called Freedom Summer.

Class Discussion Questions:

1) Do you volunteer in your community? If so, describe what you do.

Read the Script:

There are so many great reasons I'm proud to call my self an Ohioan. We've got the best parks, food, libraries, the Ohio State Buckeyes - but at the heart of what makes us great is our history, and that includes a long history of recognizing the equality of all people. 

In the 18th and 19th centuries, people of color were legally enslaved, mostly in the southern United States, but Ohio was a free state. We didn't allow slavery. In fact, some Ohioans were so disgusted by the practice that they illegally helped slaves run away to freedom. Ohio played an important role in the Underground Railroad, a system of safe houses and hiding places that helped fugitive slaves escape. 

In 1884, just 20 years after the Civil War officially ended slavery, Ohio was one of the first states to pass a law forbidding racial discrimination in public places. In some cases, though, this law was not enforced and in 1959, through the work of activists like Barbie Durham, the law was reinforced and expanded to stop employers from discriminating due to race. 

It's now called the Ohio Civil Rights Act of 1959, but as Ohio was passing laws to prevent racial discrimination, some southern states passed laws that enforced segregation. Many of these laws also made it difficult for African Americans to get a good education, vote, or participate in politics. 

In 1964, civil rights activists hatched a plan to enlist volunteers to move down to Mississippi for the summer and help African Americans register to vote and get an education, but before heading south, the 800 volunteers met right here in Ohio. Freedom Summer, as it came to be called, began on the campus of the Western College for Women in Oxford. It's now known as Miami University. 

While there, volunteers from all around the country learned how to register people to vote and about the dangerous backlash they were likely to encounter in the south. In fact, three of these volunteers would go on to fall victim to violent segregationists in Mississippi, but the project succeeded in calling attention to the civil rights movement. 

With a history of recognizing racial equality, it's not surprising that some of Ohio's greatest inventors, politicians, athletes, and artists are African American, and it's only because we recognize their equality that we were able to benefit from their immeasurable contributions.

Back to you Rick!

Instructional Links

Website Article: National Education Association, Classroom Resources for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/mlk-day.html

Website Article: The King Center, Making of The King Holiday Chronology

http://www.thekingcenter.org/making-king-holiday

Website Article & Audio Radio Program: NPR Code Switch, 50 Years Ago, Freedom Summer Began By Training For Battle

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/06/14/318917992/50-years-ago-freedom-summer-began-by-training-for-battle

Website Article: Ohio History Central, Civil Right Movement

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Civil_Rights_Movement?rec=1608