The Akron Legal News

Recognition of Ohio's role in Freedom Summer voting campaign sought

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: September 12, 2014

House Bill 557 was crafted to memorialize the efforts surrounding Freedom Summer and honor the role Ohio played in the battle for voting equality.

The proposed legislation, sponsored by Reps. Tim Derickson, R-Springboro, and Dale Mallory, D-Cincinnati, would designate June 20 as “Freedom Summer Day” in Ohio.

“In June 1964, Freedom Summer was a campaign whose central goal was registering as many African Americans voters as possible in Mississippi, a state which historically excluded African Americans from voting,” Derickson said.

At the time, Mississippi required African Americans to complete a 21-question registration form and answer a state constitutional question of interpretation.

Freedom Summer was organized by the Council of Federated Organizations and a coalition of the Mississippi branches of four major civil rights organizations.

Derickson said more than 800 out-of-state volunteers participated in Freedom Summer alongside thousands of African American Mississippians.

Two, one-week orientation sessions for volunteers took place at the former Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio.

“The courageous volunteers who fought for liberty and equality for all will forever be remembered for their sacrifice in the face of very real danger. Though Freedom Summer did not register as many voters as they had hoped, they were instrumental in bringing the plight of the African American civil rights movement to the forefront of American attention,” Derickson said.

In proponent testimony before the House Policy and Legislative Oversight Committee, Jerome Conley, former Oxford mayor, offered insight on the orientation sessions.

“During their time in Oxford they learned about voter registration processes, the values associated with non-violent protest and the challenges faced by African Americans in the South,” he said.

“But most importantly, the students strengthened their faith in their beliefs and their bonds with one another. A sense of solidarity was imparted upon the volunteers before they left campus to work across the South.”

Conley said America faced an array of challenges in 1964.

“These were not challenges of numbers or statistics. Rather they were questions of moral turpitude; of right and wrong,” he said.

“Looking across the South, African American citizens faced structural suppression of their ability to exercise the constitutionally-guaranteed right to vote. And many in the country had not yet reached a point where they felt compelled to act and end this oppression. Yet, these idealistic and committed young Americans joined together to make a difference.”

Conley said the bonds of solidarity formed in Oxford helped the volunteers persevere during the Freedom Summer initiative.

He said their story is one that “reaches deeply into the very spirit of citizenship and responsibility” that leaders attempt to pass on to new generations.

“A program like Freedom Summer ... should be held up as a model of civic excellence. The young Americans who came to Oxford and went on to fight for equality and liberty in the face of danger represent the best of the qualities we value in one another,” he said.

“By commemorating June 20 as ‘Freedom Summer Day,’ we will honor the legacy of those who participated in the Mississippi Summer Project and ensure that future generations in Ohio will continue to embody the best of our society.”

HB 557 is co-sponsored by Reps. Mike Dovilla, Andrew Brenner, Rick Perales, Kathleen Clyde, Matt Lundy and Vernon Sykes.

[Back]