1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:03,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of My 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: I'm Josh Clark, and there's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, and 4 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: there's Jerry over there. And I don't know if I 5 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: said or not, but I'm Josh Clark and this is 6 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: Stuff you should Know. And uh, I'm pretty excited about 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: this one. Freedom Freedom Schools. Yeah, we would be the 8 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: best singing duo ever. If that's how it worked, I 9 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:34,879 Speaker 1: would just go big and you would just lou read it. 10 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: Yeah exactly. Is that what I'm doing, is lou reading. 11 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: I don't even know my own heritage sort of speak singing. Okay, 12 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 1: you know, yeah, that's what Lou Reid did. Uh. Maybe 13 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:51,239 Speaker 1: go to the refrigerator, baby, remember again about the fridge, right, 14 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: give me one of those frozen snicker bars. You're not 15 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: the ice cream kind, actual snicker bar. I put into 16 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: the freezer. It over here, baby, that's the one, and 17 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: Nico would go, I am placing it in the threes. Uh. 18 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: Was she German? Uh? Yeah, she had to be German? 19 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,279 Speaker 1: Was she German? I mean she was if not German, 20 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: Austrian or something. Well, I'm just saying I didn't even know. 21 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: I knew nothing about her except Nico sat in with 22 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: the velvet underground for a while and then my amazing 23 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: vocal talents, and that was good. That's what included me 24 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: to the idea that she was a German. There's a 25 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: movie about her later years that I want to see 26 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: that came out this year or something. I think it's 27 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: called Taken. So, Chuck, we're talking about freedom schools, as 28 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 1: we already said, and then we got silly. Now we're 29 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: getting back to it. Okay, that's right, because this is 30 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: not a silly topic, but it has a c o 31 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: a at the beginning. Should we talk about that? Yeah? Yeah, 32 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: So this is about the freedom schools, which, as you 33 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: will very soon find out, Uh, we're in Mississippi during 34 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: the civil rights movement. I mean, like in probably the 35 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: most dangerous place in the country. Yeah, during the most 36 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: dangerous point in the civil rights movement. That's where this 37 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: this story takes place. That's right. And freedom schools were great, 38 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: and they were a great thing, and we're happy to 39 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: be talking about them. But uh, in a lot of 40 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:15,639 Speaker 1: the quotes and and a lot of the curriculum of 41 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: the freedom schools themselves. Uh, they use the word negro 42 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: and it's obviously not a word that people use anymore, 43 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: but some of the like curriculum class titles feature that word. 44 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: And so just letting everyone know that that's coming. And 45 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: we're not gonna say we're just gonna read their curriculums 46 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: in their plots as it existed back then. Yeah, I 47 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 1: think this this heads up. Yeah, we're and we were 48 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: just kind of sticking to the vernacular at the times 49 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: being used in context within reason of course. So um 50 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: so this this takes place in the summer of nineteen 51 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: sixty four. But I want to go back a little 52 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: further than that, the n with the the groundbreaking see 53 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: Changing Board Brown Versus Board of Education ruling where the 54 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: Supreme Court said, you know that that separate but equal 55 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:10,080 Speaker 1: thing that we said back in was constitutional. Word, that's 56 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: not true. Segregation is not constitutional, it's not legal anymore. 57 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: Everybody needs to integrate schools at least, but they failed 58 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: to say and do it by nineteen sixty four or 59 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty or next year. They just said I think 60 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: something like in a like a deliberate and speedy manner 61 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:32,119 Speaker 1: or something like that. Um, and so Mississippi said, oh, 62 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: you didn't tell us when we had to do it 63 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: by Yeah, let me just dig my heel in here 64 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: and the other one in here, and we're just going 65 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: to keep our schools segregated. And not only segregated, Mississippi 66 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:48,119 Speaker 1: had some of the poorest excuses for schools for African 67 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: American students in the country. Um, the state average for Mississippi, 68 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: I think in nineteen sixty was that they spent four 69 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: times more on schools for white children then they did 70 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: on schools for black children. That was just the state average. 71 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: In some towns it was way worse. You're talking about budgets, 72 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: spinning budgets. In Tunica, they spent a hundred and seventy 73 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: two dollars and eighty cents per white pupil on average 74 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty two. That's per year. It was in 75 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,839 Speaker 1: that year, a hundred and seventy two eight. They spent 76 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,239 Speaker 1: five dollars and ninety nine cents per black people. Yeah, 77 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:29,600 Speaker 1: and that's just kind of how it was like. You 78 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: went to school in share cropper schools or what they 79 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:34,719 Speaker 1: were called. If you were a black kid and you 80 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: were you got a terrible education by comparison, um, white kids, 81 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: schools usually ran for about six months out of the year. 82 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: If you were an African American kid in Mississippi, your 83 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: school might run three if if it was even open 84 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: that year. The rest of the time, you were expected 85 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: to be out in the fields working and just knowing 86 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: your place basically. Yeah. And you know, as you'll see 87 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: throughout this podcast, those sharecropper schools not only did they 88 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 1: fail them fundamentally on things like literacy and maths and 89 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: things like that, but they also failed them historically because 90 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: and I think things have gotten a lot better, but 91 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: one could make the argument that history classes still fail 92 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: historically and telling the true picture of some of these things. 93 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: But back then it was like at the sharecropper schools, 94 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 1: here you're learning white history, and it's not just like 95 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: this is the important history, but like this is the 96 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: only history. Yours does not matter. Yeah. Um. And even 97 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: worse than that, when they were taught about their heritage 98 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: or whatever, it was usually in relation to slavery, and 99 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 1: it was also in relation to how, um, how black 100 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: people preferred to be slaves and if they were far 101 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:43,599 Speaker 1: worse off after the War of Northern Aggression freed them 102 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: and that that was they weren't interested in politics, they 103 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: weren't really self starters, and they needed white people that 104 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: guide them. That was the education you got as an 105 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: African American kid in Mississippi around the time of the 106 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 1: Civil Rights struggle, and um by the time nineteen four 107 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 1: role around, there was a lot of agitation going on 108 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: in the African American community. A lot of people saw, hey, 109 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: there's no integration going on. Things have haven't changed at all. 110 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: We're being kept down by Jim Crow air laws, and 111 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:16,479 Speaker 1: we're going to agitate for change. And in response to that, 112 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 1: there was a lot of violence against that agitation for change, 113 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: from the KKK, from the state police, from local sheriffs, 114 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: from the local sheriff's redneck like you could get yourself 115 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:32,919 Speaker 1: killed just by going to vote, registered to vote. Yeah, 116 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 1: And if the police were not inciting or committing the 117 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 1: violence themselves, they certainly would turn a blind eye to 118 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: anything that was going on and not do police work. 119 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: So it's in this context, around December of nine three 120 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,479 Speaker 1: that a guy named Robert Moses, who uh was one 121 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: of the members of I believe he was with Core 122 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: the no I'm sorry, he was with Snick the student 123 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: Non Violent Coordinating Committee UM in Mississippi, and he said, 124 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: I've got an idea. We're gonna call it Freedom Summer. Yeah, 125 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:08,480 Speaker 1: and the Freedom Summer. And by the way, big shout 126 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: out to Dave Rouse, big shout out one of our 127 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:14,679 Speaker 1: stable of writers these days from the old house Stuff 128 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: Works dot com website, Davis helping us out. And boy, 129 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: he does a great job. He does. It's always a pleasure, 130 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: So thanks Dave. But yeah, the Freedom Summer was in 131 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four, and the whole goal of the Freedom 132 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: Summer was really to get people registered to vote on 133 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: mass right. That was the stated goal of it. Yeah, 134 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: for sure, the subtext of it. UM. John Hale wrote 135 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: a book on Freedom Summer and Freedom Schools, which we're 136 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: gonna talk about, and he actually helped Dave out with 137 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: this article, so shout out to John Hale too. But 138 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: he had a quote from John Lewis, the Great John 139 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: Lewis UM, who said, basically, the point of Freedom Summer 140 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: was to force a showdown between local authorities and federal 141 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: authorities because the local authorities were abusively enforcing white supremacy 142 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: and federal and full um authorities were turning a blind 143 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 1: eye to it, and so they said, we need to 144 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: we need to put ourselves invisible harm's way and and 145 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: force a showdown between these two entities. Yeah, in nineteen 146 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: sixty four is key. It wasn't just sort of picked 147 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 1: um randomly. It was key because the Civil Rights Act 148 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: was going to be signed in July that year, but 149 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:27,240 Speaker 1: it did not include black voting rights protection. And uh, 150 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: the Democratic National Convention was going to be at the 151 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: end of August of that year in Atlantic City. And 152 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: this is basically like, let's get black folks registered to 153 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: vote so they can go in there and unseat these Dixiecrats. 154 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: To the Southern Democrats who were still very much segregationist 155 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: in Mississippi there for the for the Democratic Convention, their delegation, 156 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,319 Speaker 1: the Mississippi delegation was all white. Yeah, and that was 157 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,200 Speaker 1: another big, big goal, was to create a separate black 158 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: delegation for that National Convention. So to get this to 159 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: force the showdown between local authorities and federal authorities. The 160 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 1: the the civil rights activists like Robert Moses working in 161 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:11,199 Speaker 1: Mississippi had zero illusions that that the federal government was 162 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: going to come down and help them out no matter 163 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: what they were doing. Instead, they would be forced to 164 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: act if white Northern kids, the children of these federal authorities, 165 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 1: came down to Mississippi and put themselves in harm's way 166 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: to kids meaning you know, college students, kids, to old 167 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: folks like us, right, exactly, youngsters that they weren't sitting 168 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,080 Speaker 1: down like twelve year olds. No, no, no, nothing like that, 169 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: but like college students who wanted to come down and 170 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: help people who truly believed in the cause of civil rights. Yeah, white, liberal, progressive, Northern, 171 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,840 Speaker 1: oftentimes Jewish, but not always. But as far as getting 172 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: the federal authorities to pay attention, that first descriptor is 173 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: the most important one, white because again they knew in Mississippi, 174 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 1: no federal authorities were going to pay attention to that. 175 00:09:57,720 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: And I mean they had good reason to think that 176 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 1: Kennedy had the Civil Rights Act as far back as 177 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty but agreed not to bring it up in 178 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: Congress because they were still trying to figure out how 179 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: to keep the Dixiecrats happy and maybe get some sort 180 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: of integration going or civil rights going. And um, they've 181 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 1: just been left hung out to draw by the federal 182 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: authorities so many times that they were totally right in 183 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,800 Speaker 1: that assumption. Yeah, and they knew that in order to 184 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: really affect change. Um, like you said, they were going 185 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:28,079 Speaker 1: to get no assistance from the federal government, so they 186 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: need to do it on the ground, grassroots style. Um. 187 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 1: And what they were really looking towards was the future, 188 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,960 Speaker 1: and they knew that getting kids involved was the key 189 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:40,840 Speaker 1: and the only way to do that. Or they figured 190 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:42,000 Speaker 1: the best way to do that, and I think they 191 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: were right was to devise what was called the Freedom 192 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: Schools in the summer of nineteen sixty four, which ended 193 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: up being one summer schools, community based summer schools where uh, 194 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: they had core curriculums for sure, but what they really 195 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: were trying to do is teach young black kids about 196 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: their history and their self worth and give them a 197 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: path forward in the United States. Yeah, with a voice, 198 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: like give them an education that they couldn't find anywhere 199 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: in those sharecropper schools, where the share cropper schools point 200 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: was to keep them down, uneducated, and out of politics 201 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:20,440 Speaker 1: so that they couldn't vote. Um. These Freedom Schools were 202 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:23,199 Speaker 1: meant to do the exact opposite, to teach them their 203 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,080 Speaker 1: self worth, but also to say, like, here's how you 204 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: can actually enact change and to create the next generation 205 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,319 Speaker 1: of civil rights activists in Mississippi. That was the point 206 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 1: of the Freedom school Yeah, And like it was hitting 207 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 1: me as I was reading this, how progressive that was 208 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,760 Speaker 1: for nineteen sixty four, because that would be progressive now 209 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: in places like even Georgia. Absolutely, And it's still going 210 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: on now, is we'll see, like the the Children's Defense 211 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 1: Fund revived the Freedom Schools back in the eighties, and 212 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: I think they still have them, and it does still 213 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,440 Speaker 1: have a tinge of subversion. Sadly teaching black kids in 214 00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:00,560 Speaker 1: America their self worth. Yeah, that's that's sad. All right, 215 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 1: that's a great preamble. Should we take a break? All right, 216 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: we are going to take a break, and we're gonna 217 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 1: come back and really dig into the mission of the 218 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: freedom schools. Right after this and thing. Okay, So freedom 219 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:41,679 Speaker 1: Schools again launched and proposed by s n c C 220 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: Snick Snick leader Charlie cobb Uh in December sixty three, 221 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 1: and they had three. The original idea was let's get 222 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,319 Speaker 1: eleventh and twelfth graders because they're just on the cusp 223 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 1: of being in you know, in the real world. Um 224 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:59,439 Speaker 1: arguably already were in the real world. Yeah, you know 225 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,600 Speaker 1: what I'm saying. Uh. And they had three stated purposes 226 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: that they wanted to accomplish. Supplement what they aren't learning 227 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:09,079 Speaker 1: in high school simple enough. Number two, give them a 228 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 1: broad intellectual and academic experience during the summertime to bring 229 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 1: back to students in the classrooms I guess in the fall, 230 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: and then form the basis for statewide student action like 231 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:23,840 Speaker 1: here's how you can boycott something, Here's how you can 232 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 1: raise awareness, like teach them how to be grassroots activists. 233 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:30,240 Speaker 1: And also one of the things that they wanted to 234 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: teach them that we'll see is this is how things work. Like, 235 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: here's the nuts and bolts of this power structure that 236 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: we live in that holds us down. And here, understanding 237 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: how it works, you can start to poke around and 238 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: figure out how to overcome that. That was a huge, 239 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: huge part of it. That's right. So it all starts 240 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 1: with volunteers. And these, like we said, are mainly college students. Uh. 241 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: They saw this by way of ads in the New 242 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: York Times and other groups in college emphasis that basically 243 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 1: said hey, this is what we want to do. You've 244 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:06,560 Speaker 1: been watching this on TV every night. Um, I know 245 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,560 Speaker 1: that You might live in Manhattan or Brooklyn or someplace, 246 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: but if you are a young white liberal progressive and 247 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: you really want to make a difference, get off your 248 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: couch and come down to Mississippi for the summer, endanger 249 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 1: your life and helped teach these kids. Yeah, and I 250 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 1: think I think something like a thousand I saw, like 251 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 1: as much as there a bunch of people answered this call. Um, 252 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: like northern mostly white college students came down to Mississippi 253 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 1: for this Freedom Summer, not just the Freedom schools. Yeah. Yeah, 254 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: I think two hundred and eighty of them ended up 255 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: being teachers out of about the seven hundred or so 256 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: who volunteered for the Freedom Summer. Yeah. And I've heard 257 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: different stories on how the people who got selected to 258 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:55,280 Speaker 1: be teachers for the Freedom schools were selected. This article 259 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,840 Speaker 1: makes it sound like, um, the greener ones, the ones 260 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 1: who really shouldn't be put in harm's way, were assigned 261 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:05,920 Speaker 1: to the Freedom schools. But from what I've read, they 262 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,560 Speaker 1: were very much in harm's way as being teachers of 263 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: these freedom schools. But regardless of of who got assigned 264 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: to become a Freedom school teacher or why, they were told, 265 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: you're gonna have to pay your way to and from Mississippi. 266 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:22,680 Speaker 1: You're gonna have to pay your own room and board, 267 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 1: so expect to have to shell out over two hundred 268 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: bucks or up to two hundred bucks over the course 269 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:30,640 Speaker 1: of the summer. Yeah. It also said they would uh 270 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: live basically in the homes of local black families. I 271 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,840 Speaker 1: wonder if they paid them rent. I don't know if 272 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 1: they paid them rent. But the black families who did 273 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: put these white Northern college students up over the summer 274 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 1: to teach freedom schools very much put their own families 275 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 1: and homes in harm's way. Because the Freedom school and 276 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: actually the whole Freedom Summer volunteers who came down, they 277 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:58,160 Speaker 1: didn't take Mississippi by surprise. The white power establishment Mississippi 278 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:01,200 Speaker 1: knew they were coming and they were very unhappy about this. 279 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: They said publicly that these people would be treated as invaders, 280 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: that this was a a second war of Northern aggression. 281 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: They doubled the number of highway patrol officers and not 282 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: to keep the peace. Um. They they knew they were 283 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 1: coming down, and they were not happy about these Freedom 284 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:20,520 Speaker 1: schools or the Freedom Summer in general. Yeah, and I 285 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 1: guess we should go ahead and say right off the 286 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: bat to add gravity to the situation. And there may 287 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,080 Speaker 1: be a short stuff in here. I've been wanting to 288 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,760 Speaker 1: do one on the disappearance of these three men. But 289 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: the CORE Training Crew Congress of Racial Equality was CORE 290 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: and they were helping out with the Freedom rides in 291 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: the early sixties on the buses in Selma in the 292 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 1: Deep South. And there were three gentlemen, Andrew Goodman and 293 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: Michael Scherner, two white men, and another colleague, James Cheney, 294 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: a young black man that worked with CORE. They went missing, 295 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: um in Longdale, Mississippi, and we're basically taken in murders. 296 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: So this is at the area. This is before a 297 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,080 Speaker 1: few months before the Freedom Schools were to launch, and 298 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:08,160 Speaker 1: you're going down there knowing that these men disappeared under 299 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 1: mysterious circumstances. I'm pretty sure it was like a week 300 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: before basically, because it happened like they got the news 301 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:17,320 Speaker 1: during the orientation in Oxford, Ohio that they held for 302 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:20,640 Speaker 1: the Freedom School teachers. The news came through that these 303 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: three guys had gone missing and then were later found murdered, 304 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 1: and some people did back out and we're like, I 305 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:28,639 Speaker 1: can't take this risk, but it seems like most of 306 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 1: them pressed on right. Yeah. Absolutely, and I think some 307 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:36,640 Speaker 1: people's um resolve was doubled by that kind of thing too. 308 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: But their disappearance and ultimately their deaths proved that idea 309 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:44,880 Speaker 1: that these the civil rights activists in Mississippi needed these 310 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:49,359 Speaker 1: white Northern volunteers to come down because James Cheney, he 311 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,920 Speaker 1: was a local Mississippi activists, he was a black guy. 312 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:58,240 Speaker 1: And Um Schwarner, Michael Schwerner and good Goodman, both of 313 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:01,840 Speaker 1: them were white. And because they went missing along with Cheney, 314 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty FBI agents and two hundred where 315 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:09,320 Speaker 1: are the sailors from the local naval station jags showed up, 316 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: Sure showed up to search for these guys. And Michael 317 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 1: Scharner's widow said, this never would have happened if if 318 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: my husband had been a black man, and all this 319 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: was happening because he was white. I do want to 320 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: there's this is rife with a lot of quotes that 321 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:24,879 Speaker 1: a lot of them were not going to read, but 322 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:28,120 Speaker 1: I did want to read this one from Howard's inn. Uh, 323 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,400 Speaker 1: this is the message at this orientation that you talked 324 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: about at the Western College for Women in Oxford, so 325 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 1: you're showing up, You're like, I want to volunteer. I 326 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:38,679 Speaker 1: want to do the right thing. They sit you down 327 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: an auditorium and say this. You'll arrive in Rleville, which 328 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,520 Speaker 1: is a place in Ruleville in the delta. It will 329 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:48,800 Speaker 1: be a hundred degrees. You'll be sweaty and dirty. You 330 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: won't be able to bathe often, or sleep well or 331 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,159 Speaker 1: eat good food. I don't know about that, but there 332 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:54,960 Speaker 1: was some pretty decent food that kind of stuck out 333 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 1: to me. Howard's in mine at not? I thought so. 334 00:18:57,480 --> 00:18:59,359 Speaker 1: The first day of school, there may be four teachers 335 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:02,640 Speaker 1: and three students. Uh, And the local Negro minister will 336 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: phone you to say you can't use his church basement 337 00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 1: after all because his life has been threatened. And the 338 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:11,960 Speaker 1: curriculum we've drawn up um Negro history and American government 339 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,160 Speaker 1: maybe something you know only a little about yourself. Well, 340 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 1: you'll knock on doors all day in the hot sun 341 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,720 Speaker 1: to find students. You'll meet on someone's lawn under a tree. 342 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,399 Speaker 1: You'll tear up the curriculum and teach what you know. 343 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: And it seems like that's really kind of what happened. 344 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: It was very prescient. Yeah, I don't know if that 345 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 1: quote was long after him describing it, but if that's 346 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 1: what they told them at orientation before the Freedom schools, 347 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,880 Speaker 1: then yeah, that's exactly how it ended up. And how many. 348 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:40,440 Speaker 1: I think originally they were gonna target, like I said, 349 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:44,680 Speaker 1: eleventh and twelfth graders, twenty schools, about a thousand students. 350 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:49,080 Speaker 1: But when you know, when school they started, parents heard 351 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: about this and brought everybody. Basically they did something like 352 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,359 Speaker 1: I've seen as much as but um, at least two 353 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,560 Speaker 1: thousand students were enrolled in Freedom Schools in Mississippi this summer, 354 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 1: and double the number of schools plus one some. I 355 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:08,280 Speaker 1: think Hattiesburg had six different schools. Meridian had a school 356 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:11,480 Speaker 1: with two hundred two hundred students. That was the biggest one. 357 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:14,920 Speaker 1: Um it was. And they originally intended, like you said, 358 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 1: eleventh and twelfth graders, maybe as young as middle like 359 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 1: middle schoolers possibly, but really that was it, and it 360 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 1: ended up being elementary school kids. I believe there was 361 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 1: an eighty year old enrolled at one of the Freedom schools. 362 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: Um and it just became a sensation in Mississippi among 363 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: the African American community. UM. And there was a there 364 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: was a New York Times article, they sent a reporter 365 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: down to kind of cover this, and they the reporter 366 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,920 Speaker 1: was in Holly Springs and there was a school teacher 367 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: from Chicago named Aviva Futtorian, and she said, we're probably like, 368 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: are you from outer space? Kind of sounds like it 369 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,920 Speaker 1: the silver jumped suit she was wearing it, but um 370 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: she said that they were teaching under a suite gum tree. 371 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: And this became kind of like ah. That was another 372 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: reason why that Oxford quote from Howard's Inn was so pressy. 373 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: And it's like a lot of times like they didn't 374 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: have any place to actually meet. They had to meet 375 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 1: outside or on somebody's front porch or something like that, 376 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,480 Speaker 1: because someone might say, like he said in the in 377 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,199 Speaker 1: the quote, like hey, use my church basement. But then 378 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,120 Speaker 1: when the KKK found out there, you know, they may 379 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: burn across it in that churchyard, and then that preacher 380 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 1: has to say, I'm sorry, I can't take the risk. Well, 381 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:33,000 Speaker 1: so you know, Schwerner and Cheney and Goodman when they 382 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,439 Speaker 1: went when they were murdered, kidnapped and murdered, they were 383 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,520 Speaker 1: investigating the burning of the church that they were going 384 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 1: to be holding their Freedom School that's what they were 385 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 1: doing out there, and they went to go find out 386 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,399 Speaker 1: what happened, and that's when they went missing. Yeah, so 387 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: message sent loud and clear. So school was outside, which 388 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:51,200 Speaker 1: is every kid's favorite thing, right, and then we'll as 389 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:53,280 Speaker 1: we'll see, there was another There was at least one 390 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:55,919 Speaker 1: school that got fire bombed and burned to the ground 391 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: after school had already started. I don't think any It 392 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: was like after hours. But the next day the um 393 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:07,800 Speaker 1: school met in the like yard next to this burned 394 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,359 Speaker 1: down building that they've been meeting in the day before. 395 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,480 Speaker 1: Pretty amazing. So there was a lot of I mean, 396 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 1: this wasn't just going to school. They were there's a 397 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:20,879 Speaker 1: whole state full of white people who violently did not 398 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:23,400 Speaker 1: want you to be learning this stuff. Yeah. They were 399 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,320 Speaker 1: just as organized on you know, the defense of this 400 00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: or I guess the offense, which would that be. Uh, 401 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 1: they weren't defending it, No, to go on the offensive. Sure, 402 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: I just got mixed up in my head. Yeah, you 403 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 1: got all right. So uh, in the spring of nineteen 404 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 1: four they met and they were like, listen, we need 405 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:46,119 Speaker 1: to get a curriculum together because this is a real school. 406 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: They're gonna tear it up, but we're gonna we're gonna 407 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,359 Speaker 1: get it down at least. Uh. And the final one 408 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: and had sections for like I said, reading, writing, arithmetic, 409 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,480 Speaker 1: the three RS, and science. But the bulk of it was, 410 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:04,520 Speaker 1: um what they called citizen curriculum. Citizenship curriculum, which is 411 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: basically like African American civics, which they had never heard 412 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: of and never learned. Like I'm sure parents told them 413 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: stories and stuff, but as far as going to school, 414 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,160 Speaker 1: they had never encountered anything like this before. Well, I mean, 415 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: depending on the age of their parents to their parents 416 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 1: might have never heard anything like that before either. Um. 417 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:28,199 Speaker 1: So there was The Citizenship Curriculum was broken into seven units, 418 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: and each one built upon the last unit. It was 419 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: meant to basically say, here's the status quo, here's what's 420 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,639 Speaker 1: wrong with the status quo, here's how to change to 421 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,200 Speaker 1: the status quo, or basically the three buckets you could 422 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 1: put everything in, and um, the one I haven't read 423 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: all of them, but I went and read the fourth 424 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 1: one called the Power Structure Unit four, and I would 425 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 1: strongly recommend. I think, um, the student Non violent Coordinating 426 00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:00,160 Speaker 1: Committees digital archive has it like digitized? Yeah, that's when 427 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,160 Speaker 1: you sent me right, but go read it. It's called 428 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: Uniform Introducing the Power Structure, and it explains how and why, uh, 429 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 1: white people are taught to be afraid of and hate 430 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:21,439 Speaker 1: black people, how black people are taught that their inferior, 431 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,880 Speaker 1: and that the reason behind the whole thing is money 432 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,800 Speaker 1: and profits, and that all of the racism and hatred 433 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 1: and fear and crime and all that stuff is all 434 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:37,239 Speaker 1: just window dressing around this power structure that's meant to 435 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:41,680 Speaker 1: keep people servile and available for cheap labor so that 436 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: some people can profit more off of their work. It's 437 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 1: the most disgusting thing I've ever read, but it's also 438 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,200 Speaker 1: one of the most eye opening. And it was designed 439 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 1: for eleventh and twelfth graders back in the sixties, and 440 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 1: it still rings true today. Yeah, the one that I'm 441 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,040 Speaker 1: gonna dig in and read, I didn't have time, but 442 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:06,919 Speaker 1: uh number six Material Things and Soul Things. So this 443 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:11,919 Speaker 1: is almost the last one um on the Citizenship Curriculum units, 444 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:14,879 Speaker 1: and that is that black people will not achieve true 445 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:18,120 Speaker 1: freedom by trying to acquire more stuff, but by using 446 00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:20,920 Speaker 1: their insights about oppression to create a new kind of society. 447 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:23,960 Speaker 1: And I think that's so important in these in this curriculum, 448 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: it's like, we're not trying to teach you like, hey, 449 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: go out there and uh try and gain status in 450 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,520 Speaker 1: society so you can get a bigger house or or 451 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,800 Speaker 1: things that you see that these white people have, which 452 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:39,600 Speaker 1: I'm sure was you know, you covet things. That's what 453 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,440 Speaker 1: people do, so I'm sure that was a natural inclination, 454 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 1: like I want the stuff that they have. But it's 455 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,360 Speaker 1: so important to say like that the stuff isn't what matters, well, 456 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: not only just stuff in general, but there's they kind 457 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,120 Speaker 1: of walk the students through it in this curriculum where 458 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: they say, like, what are some things that white people 459 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,040 Speaker 1: have that you don't have that you wish you had? 460 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 1: What are some things white people have that you don't want? 461 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: Um and what the purpose of this curriculum wasn't to 462 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: teach black kids to hate white kids. As a matter 463 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:12,360 Speaker 1: of fact, it actually teaches them to understand white people more. 464 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:14,960 Speaker 1: Let me read you this quote from this unit, for 465 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:18,160 Speaker 1: we have learned that although it seems that white people 466 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:20,879 Speaker 1: have better schools, for instance, that they pay for it 467 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 1: by learning lies and by learning to hate and be afraid. 468 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:27,720 Speaker 1: We have learned that we are misled by these lies too, 469 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,080 Speaker 1: that the myths have taught us to believe that we 470 00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: are inferior and dumb and that we have made no 471 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:36,600 Speaker 1: contributions to society. So it's just it's saying like, don't 472 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,359 Speaker 1: hate white people. They're they're being duped by this too. 473 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:43,160 Speaker 1: But they're they're Patsy's in this power structure too. They 474 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 1: just happen to not be the group that's being stepped on, 475 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,880 Speaker 1: you know, but they're still being used and abused. Yeah, 476 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:56,159 Speaker 1: school children in particular for context um and well, and 477 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: it's interesting to when you just talked about like, uh, 478 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:03,399 Speaker 1: they wanted the same things, not necessarily stuff as the 479 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:07,520 Speaker 1: white students, one of the most popular classes because you know, 480 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 1: they would get in there and say this is what 481 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:11,280 Speaker 1: I want to learn. And that's the whole part about 482 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 1: tearing up the curriculum. One of the most popular subjects 483 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:18,280 Speaker 1: in one of these schools um was French, and they 484 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:20,439 Speaker 1: wanted to learn French because they knew white kids had 485 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 1: a French teacher. Like something is innocuous is at Like 486 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,680 Speaker 1: I want to learn French too, write? And I mean 487 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:27,640 Speaker 1: that was the point in schools, not just like sit 488 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:29,640 Speaker 1: down and shut up and listen, this is what we're 489 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:31,160 Speaker 1: here to teach you. It was what do you want 490 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,520 Speaker 1: to learn? What are you guys going to feel good 491 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 1: about yourselves for knowing that you can't? You didn't know 492 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 1: when you came in here. And so teaching in the 493 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:44,200 Speaker 1: Freedom Schools that summer was super improvisational and spontaneous. They 494 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:46,560 Speaker 1: really did tear up the curriculum and a lot of 495 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,000 Speaker 1: a lot of cases. Um, sounds like a good model 496 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 1: for schools period. Yeah, it sounds like one of those 497 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: like Waldorf schools or a monessary school or something like that. 498 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,520 Speaker 1: It sounds very much like one of those child Yeah. Um, 499 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,760 Speaker 1: but I mean that was that was the point was too, 500 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,920 Speaker 1: not to to drill them with what the adults thought 501 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:07,679 Speaker 1: they should learn, but to to raise up their self 502 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:10,359 Speaker 1: worth and self esteem and whatever that took. Is what 503 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:13,400 Speaker 1: they taught them. Yeah, and it's cool that they didn't. Um. 504 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: Not only were they concerned about civics and the core academics, 505 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,439 Speaker 1: but something that could have very easily been pushed to 506 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:23,960 Speaker 1: the side is creative pursuits. And they really embraced that 507 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,200 Speaker 1: because they found that these students were natural poets and 508 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:31,040 Speaker 1: really eager to get in there and read and write poetry. Um. 509 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,159 Speaker 1: They read Robert Frost and Langston Hughes and Gertrude Stein 510 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: and wrote a lot of poetry themselves. Some of it 511 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: is just heartbreaking, some of it inspiring, some of it both. Um. 512 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:45,720 Speaker 1: There was one school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, UH, Freedom School 513 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,240 Speaker 1: students of St. John's Methodist Church. They wrote their own 514 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:52,440 Speaker 1: declaration of independence and it's it's all in here in 515 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 1: this article. We can't go through the whole thing, but 516 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 1: I encourage you to like read this thing and full. 517 00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 1: It's really hetty like advanced stuff. It really is. Um. 518 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:04,840 Speaker 1: There are also newspapers were really big at the freedom schools. 519 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 1: They and they qualified as alternative newspapers. And that guy 520 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,120 Speaker 1: John Hale, the professor from South Carolina who wrote the 521 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:16,080 Speaker 1: book on Freedom Schools. Literally literally, he says that UM, 522 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: in Mississippi that summer the Freedom schools, student run newspapers 523 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:25,080 Speaker 1: were the biggest source of civil rights news in the 524 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 1: entire states, and that they were the state's first taste 525 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 1: of alternative news. Ever. But that like almost all of 526 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:34,800 Speaker 1: the forty one schools had their own newspapers, and in 527 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:38,040 Speaker 1: some communities that's that's how some adults were learning what 528 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: they needed to do to go register to vote by 529 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:43,520 Speaker 1: reading it in the student run Freedom School newspaper. Yeah, 530 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:46,240 Speaker 1: I was a newspaper staffer. I think you were too, 531 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 1: probably right, were you just starting your own papers? But 532 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: I was a newspaper staffer in high school. And there's 533 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,320 Speaker 1: something about like putting together a publication that even I 534 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:02,040 Speaker 1: see little kids, uh doing for fun, and I remember 535 00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: doing for fun. So it's it doesn't surprise me that 536 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:08,120 Speaker 1: like that the newspaper was every school had their own, 537 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:10,440 Speaker 1: and it seems like they were really really into it. 538 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 1: I could see your your little family news, the extra 539 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:15,960 Speaker 1: extra mom puts too much hot sauce and eggs this morning. 540 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 1: Well it's it's on my mind because I just got 541 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:22,360 Speaker 1: back from vacation and uh we went with one to 542 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,720 Speaker 1: three four older girls plus my younger daughter, and they 543 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:29,719 Speaker 1: did a the Beach Blotter. They put together their own 544 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 1: little magazine for the week, and I just remembered, I'm like, man, 545 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:36,960 Speaker 1: kids are just drawn to putting together newspapers and magazines. 546 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:40,280 Speaker 1: And these kids in the Freedom schools leapt at the chance, 547 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,640 Speaker 1: uh to interview people and to you know, be little 548 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 1: cub reporters. And type this stuff up. They were really 549 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 1: big on taking typing classes because that would lead to 550 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:52,280 Speaker 1: work obviously later on as well. Um, I just thought 551 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:53,560 Speaker 1: it was really kind of a cool part of this 552 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 1: whole thing. Yeah, I know, it's super cool. As was 553 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,920 Speaker 1: the theater. There was a traveling group called the Free 554 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: Southern Theater that would form a play called in White America. 555 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 1: Then they would go around to freedom schools and perform 556 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 1: this play. And there were music groups. Uh, the great 557 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 1: great folk singer and activist Pete Seeger went down there, 558 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,160 Speaker 1: of course, and toward the Freedom schools it was like, 559 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 1: here's how you play a G chord and sing about 560 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,520 Speaker 1: like things that matter? Right, pretty great. Why don't you 561 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 1: go on over to the fridge give me the frozen 562 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:26,600 Speaker 1: snicker ball. No, no, I don't even like frozen snickers 563 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:28,320 Speaker 1: that's the big reveal at the end of the song. 564 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 1: But you know, lu Reid does or did um alright, 565 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 1: so should we take another break? Yeah, Okay, we're gonna 566 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:38,000 Speaker 1: take a break, everybody, so sit tight and we'll be 567 00:31:38,120 --> 00:32:04,160 Speaker 1: right back and h So, like I said, Chuck, this 568 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 1: experiment in pushing Mississippi into the civil rights era was 569 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:13,000 Speaker 1: not well received by the white power establishment, and I 570 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,880 Speaker 1: think it kind of varied from one community to another, 571 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,560 Speaker 1: and but none none of them were happy from what 572 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:23,600 Speaker 1: I understand, and the ones that were unhappiest with the 573 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:28,040 Speaker 1: Freedom Schools were very, very violent UM in retaliation for 574 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,800 Speaker 1: these things. This one summer, this Freedom Summer, lasted ten weeks. 575 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:34,360 Speaker 1: I think the Freedom Schools lasted six weeks, but the 576 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:37,600 Speaker 1: Freedom Summer itself lasted ten weeks. And in that ten 577 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:43,160 Speaker 1: week period, thirty homes of of black residents, thirty seven 578 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 1: black churches were fire bombed. In one summer in Mississippi, 579 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:53,400 Speaker 1: UM demonstrators were shot at thirty five different times by 580 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:58,920 Speaker 1: the police. Okay, UM eight volunteers were attacked or beaten 581 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 1: by white mobs or police officers. There were six known 582 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 1: murders that summer related to the Freedom Summer, and UM 583 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:12,760 Speaker 1: female volunteers were UM sexually assaulted. It was a really violent, 584 00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:15,640 Speaker 1: dangerous place to be doing what they were doing at 585 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:19,480 Speaker 1: the time. Yeah, that was. There was one town, Macomb, Mississippi. 586 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,000 Speaker 1: There were more than a dozen bombings in two months, 587 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,480 Speaker 1: more than twelve bombings in a two month period, twelve 588 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:28,880 Speaker 1: and a half and there were they were called the 589 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:32,800 Speaker 1: bombing capital of the world at the time. Again, local 590 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,080 Speaker 1: police turning a blind eye. I get the impression that, 591 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:38,720 Speaker 1: like they actually qualified as the bombing capital of the world. Yeah, 592 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,959 Speaker 1: it wasn't just a thing written in a freedom school paper, right, 593 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:44,360 Speaker 1: It wasn't like an offhanded comment like they may have 594 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 1: qualified as the bombing capital of the world. It's crazy. 595 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:53,479 Speaker 1: And even if there wasn't like direct violence, there was 596 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 1: indirect violence, intimidation, intimidation. People would probably drive by and 597 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:02,360 Speaker 1: uh say the worst things, right exactly. So, Um, it 598 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:04,760 Speaker 1: was not a it was a struggle to just make 599 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,719 Speaker 1: it through this summer UM, but they did as a 600 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:10,399 Speaker 1: matter of fact. And one of the goals of this 601 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:15,279 Speaker 1: um Freedom Schools was to create or help get the 602 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:20,799 Speaker 1: Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party, the antidote to the Dixiecrats in Mississippi. 603 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:25,720 Speaker 1: UM seated at the Democratic National Convention. And um, they 604 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:29,120 Speaker 1: they attempted to do that and actually got a meeting 605 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:32,560 Speaker 1: at the Credentials Committee of the d n C, but 606 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:35,719 Speaker 1: we're ultimately turned down. Yeah, they had delegates. This is 607 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:38,120 Speaker 1: just amazing. They had delegates from all forty one of 608 00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:44,080 Speaker 1: these schools and they met at a statewide convention in Meridian, Mississippi. Um, 609 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:47,840 Speaker 1: a place I have been through on a greyhound bus. Wow, 610 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 1: that's a country song and emotion right there. For sure. 611 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:53,640 Speaker 1: That was a place where they stopped us and the 612 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:57,160 Speaker 1: drug dogs got on. Oh got you in Meridian? Huh yeah? 613 00:34:57,200 --> 00:34:59,399 Speaker 1: And I was like, oh, interesting, I never thought about 614 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:02,440 Speaker 1: gray buses. Is probably a great way to transport drugs, 615 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:06,040 Speaker 1: but probably not. Hey, uh, speaking of country music, have 616 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 1: you seen that Ken Burns documentary? Not yet. I've heard 617 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:14,319 Speaker 1: it's great. Good. I'm into country music. Now. Well, I 618 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:16,600 Speaker 1: saw your Dixie Chicks tattoo on your next so I 619 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:18,640 Speaker 1: wonder what that was it just pen right now, I 620 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:21,000 Speaker 1: haven't I haven't pulled the trigger all the way. Okay, Yeah, 621 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:24,120 Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to seeing that. So uh, they wrote 622 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:26,520 Speaker 1: these these kids, these delegates went down there, they wrote 623 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:30,040 Speaker 1: their own political platform for the m f d P. 624 00:35:31,239 --> 00:35:34,279 Speaker 1: And it was it's amazing, like, these are kids that 625 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 1: in six weeks time went from just uh, basically having 626 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:43,920 Speaker 1: no hope whatsoever to fully forming a delegation and and 627 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:48,279 Speaker 1: writing their own political platform and presenting it in public, right. 628 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:50,520 Speaker 1: And it wasn't it wasn't like, hey, let's get these 629 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,239 Speaker 1: kids citied at the d N c like the Mississippi 630 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:57,920 Speaker 1: Democratic Freedom Party was made up of adult activists, but 631 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:03,080 Speaker 1: the the kids from the Freedom Schools helped write their platform. UM. 632 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:06,120 Speaker 1: They also formed from this delegation that met at the 633 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:09,279 Speaker 1: end of the summer, the Mississippi Student Union, and this 634 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:12,360 Speaker 1: actually brought to fruition one of the other stated goals 635 00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:16,480 Speaker 1: of Freedom Schools, which was creating the next generation of activists. 636 00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:20,280 Speaker 1: Because when Freedom School was over and UM Share Propper 637 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,560 Speaker 1: School started back again or even integrated schools around the state, 638 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:27,160 Speaker 1: all of a sudden there were kids wearing like one Man, 639 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:30,120 Speaker 1: One Vote buttons, which could get you expelled and actually 640 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:32,840 Speaker 1: did get some kids expelled. But they were like little 641 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:36,400 Speaker 1: civil rights activists showing up to school, aware now of 642 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:38,759 Speaker 1: the situation they were dealing with and ready to take 643 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:42,839 Speaker 1: it on. Yeah, twenty five of them volunteered to be 644 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,440 Speaker 1: the first to desegregate their local high schools. So that 645 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:49,560 Speaker 1: call comes out like we have to desegregate, Um, who's 646 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:51,960 Speaker 1: going to be the one? I know, just the people 647 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:54,799 Speaker 1: to walk in there, and twenty five of these graduates 648 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:57,400 Speaker 1: of the Freedom Schools did so. Yep, UM, So it 649 00:36:57,480 --> 00:36:59,440 Speaker 1: was it was a big deal. I mean, they managed 650 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:04,480 Speaker 1: to create UM the next generation of activist leaders. But 651 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:08,040 Speaker 1: one of the other kind of the through lines of 652 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:11,759 Speaker 1: the civil rights struggle during this time and of the 653 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:16,239 Speaker 1: Freedom Schools themselves, was the idea that if you had 654 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:19,120 Speaker 1: I think the quote was, um, if you have strong 655 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:24,920 Speaker 1: people or no, strong people, don't need strong leaders. And 656 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:27,560 Speaker 1: a civil rights activist named Ella Baker said that, and 657 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:30,200 Speaker 1: the point was, like, if you teach everybody how to 658 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:32,799 Speaker 1: how to how to struggle for themselves, how to fight 659 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:35,120 Speaker 1: for themselves, to stand up for themselves, you don't have 660 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:38,120 Speaker 1: to wait around for Martin once in a you know, 661 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:41,920 Speaker 1: handful of generations person like Martin Luther King Junior to 662 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:44,640 Speaker 1: come along and lead the way. The people can lead 663 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:46,759 Speaker 1: the way themselves. And that was one of the things 664 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:48,799 Speaker 1: that they were doing with the Freedom Schools, not just 665 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:51,000 Speaker 1: trying to come up with like the next leaders they 666 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:54,279 Speaker 1: needed leaders, sure, but also to make everybody who came 667 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:57,040 Speaker 1: through the Freedom school like aware and ready for action. 668 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:02,719 Speaker 1: So one of the sad um sad legacies was, you know, 669 00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:04,440 Speaker 1: we said at the beginning that what they wanted to 670 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:07,200 Speaker 1: do was one of their big goals was to seat 671 00:38:07,239 --> 00:38:10,880 Speaker 1: the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party at that sixty four convention 672 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:14,440 Speaker 1: in August, and they won a public hearing which was 673 00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:16,719 Speaker 1: a big win in and of itself with the d 674 00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:20,320 Speaker 1: n C Committee that was broadcast on live TV. Uh 675 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:23,399 Speaker 1: the widow of Michael Scharner showed up to talk. Uh 676 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,719 Speaker 1: Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Showed up to talk. And 677 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 1: the last one and this is just very sad and shameful. 678 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,680 Speaker 1: The last speaker and they said, uh, Dave describes her 679 00:38:34,719 --> 00:38:38,120 Speaker 1: as the most dangerous to that democratic establishment was a 680 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:43,160 Speaker 1: former sharecropper named Fannie Lou Hamer. Did you see her testimony? Yeah, 681 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:45,640 Speaker 1: she was brave as they come. She was as brave 682 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:50,360 Speaker 1: as they come. But yeah, but her testimony was interrupted 683 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:54,239 Speaker 1: on national TV by President Lyndon Johnson. He called an 684 00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:58,080 Speaker 1: impromptu press conference in the middle of her testimony. So 685 00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:00,320 Speaker 1: all the TV breaks away, of course, because the president 686 00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:02,400 Speaker 1: as a press conference they need to get to. And 687 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:04,759 Speaker 1: everyone was thinking, all right, this is big news. He's 688 00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:07,520 Speaker 1: gonna announce his VP pick for the six four election 689 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:10,080 Speaker 1: or something like that, and he basically got on TV 690 00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:13,120 Speaker 1: and sort of ad libbed had today as the nine 691 00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:17,919 Speaker 1: month anniversary of the assassination of JFK and uh, Black 692 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:21,040 Speaker 1: people all around the country and white liberal progressives are going, 693 00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:24,040 Speaker 1: what's a nine month anniversary? Right, like, are you kidding me? 694 00:39:24,239 --> 00:39:27,920 Speaker 1: Not just liberals in in um civil rights activists, but 695 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:32,239 Speaker 1: the news too, sall right through and it actually backfired 696 00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:38,880 Speaker 1: because Johnson interrupting Fannie Lew Hamer became news itself, and 697 00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:41,520 Speaker 1: so Fannie lu Hamer's testimony stayed on the news for 698 00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:46,280 Speaker 1: days afterward, got way more exposure because of Johnson's clumsy, 699 00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,759 Speaker 1: ham fisted attempt. And the reason why her testimony and 700 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:54,160 Speaker 1: the idea of a Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party was a um. 701 00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:57,920 Speaker 1: It was a threat to the to the Democrats was 702 00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:01,520 Speaker 1: because if you got rid of the Dixiecrats, if you 703 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:05,120 Speaker 1: forced integration on the South, you're going to lose the 704 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:07,879 Speaker 1: solid South. The South had always voted Democrats because they 705 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:10,799 Speaker 1: hated the Republicans, because the Republicans were the party of 706 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:14,320 Speaker 1: Lincoln who forced reconstruction on them. So Reconstruction comes along 707 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,200 Speaker 1: and all of the Southerners went Democrat and they formed 708 00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:20,600 Speaker 1: the Dixiecrats right well. When Johnson signed the Civil Rights 709 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:26,400 Speaker 1: Amendment in nine he said to an aid, we just 710 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:29,560 Speaker 1: handed the South to the Republicans for a very long time. 711 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:33,880 Speaker 1: And it's still the case still today, you're hard pressed 712 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,719 Speaker 1: to find a county in the South that's blue. They're 713 00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:40,120 Speaker 1: all red. Yeah, well that's not quite true, but no, 714 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:44,160 Speaker 1: it's but but I mean, okay, let me put it 715 00:40:44,160 --> 00:40:47,759 Speaker 1: this with Atlantas. But how many Atlantas are there in 716 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:50,439 Speaker 1: the South that I'm saying it? You know, like anywhere else, 717 00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:54,440 Speaker 1: the urban centers are where the blues are. But I mean, 718 00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:58,759 Speaker 1: like the north, the northern and southern suburbs, they're all read. 719 00:40:59,239 --> 00:41:01,800 Speaker 1: I mean, Atlanta's a little island of blue and a 720 00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:04,600 Speaker 1: thing of red. Yeah. This is weird to think that 721 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:10,719 Speaker 1: that's the legacy of of this this time still yeah. Yeah, so, uh, 722 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:14,160 Speaker 1: some of these students ended up to go on and 723 00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:17,000 Speaker 1: do great, great things, I think, dare I say many 724 00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:18,360 Speaker 1: of them went on to do great things on a 725 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:22,160 Speaker 1: smaller scale. But some we're sort of known nationally, uh, 726 00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:25,000 Speaker 1: and we're pioneers in the black community. One man Eddie 727 00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:28,840 Speaker 1: James Carthon, He was the first black mayor uh in 728 00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:32,200 Speaker 1: the Mississippi Delta. UM, very very big deal. He was 729 00:41:32,239 --> 00:41:35,960 Speaker 1: elected mayor at the age of eight, which I mean 730 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:40,400 Speaker 1: back then though, was like fifty today. Sure, you know, 731 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:45,040 Speaker 1: agings really regress since since then. And we talked earlier 732 00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:49,919 Speaker 1: about the fact that these these schools continue. Um, they 733 00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:54,239 Speaker 1: only operated in but a few of them were transformed 734 00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:57,600 Speaker 1: into Freedom centers and they were meeting places, uh for 735 00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:03,399 Speaker 1: the Mississippi Student Union. They were community meeting places, educational resources. Uh. 736 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:05,880 Speaker 1: Kindergartens would go there during the day, they would have 737 00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:10,120 Speaker 1: adult classes at night. And in the nineteen eighties is 738 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:13,319 Speaker 1: when the Children's Defense Fund created its own version of 739 00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:15,920 Speaker 1: the Freedom Schools. All those years later and they now 740 00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:19,200 Speaker 1: operate in eighty seven cities across twenty eight states, with 741 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:23,040 Speaker 1: their main focus being literacy. Yeah, it's pretty great, but 742 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:25,799 Speaker 1: they still honor their African heritage because the school day 743 00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:32,000 Speaker 1: begins with a Harambie traditional African welcoming celebration with songs 744 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:35,040 Speaker 1: and chants that goes a little something like go on 745 00:42:35,239 --> 00:42:39,319 Speaker 1: over to the free. Have you noticed like it's kind 746 00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:42,520 Speaker 1: of transformed into singing. It was talking before You're ditching 747 00:42:42,560 --> 00:42:46,800 Speaker 1: your lou read this and guess so about growing him? Uh? Well, 748 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:49,040 Speaker 1: if you want to know more about Freedom schools, there's 749 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:51,560 Speaker 1: a lot of it archived out there on the internet, 750 00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:54,160 Speaker 1: and you could do a lot worse than starting out 751 00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:57,919 Speaker 1: at the Student Non Violent Coordinating committees digital archives. They've 752 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:00,480 Speaker 1: got a lot of cool stuff on there. Um just 753 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:04,400 Speaker 1: really really well done, nice short, punchy articles that linked 754 00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:06,480 Speaker 1: to the next thing and the thing and just make 755 00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:09,160 Speaker 1: you want to keep reading. Um. Well, since I said 756 00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:12,759 Speaker 1: Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee, it's time for a listener, mate. 757 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:18,560 Speaker 1: So this was the This is the gentleman who wrote in. 758 00:43:18,600 --> 00:43:20,200 Speaker 1: We had a few people that wrote in trying to 759 00:43:20,840 --> 00:43:24,080 Speaker 1: explain our confusion on due process. Oh is this the 760 00:43:24,080 --> 00:43:27,719 Speaker 1: guy's like? Which which one was that in? That was in? 761 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:31,839 Speaker 1: It was in paraphilias. Paraphilias because we're talking about like 762 00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:35,359 Speaker 1: people going to prison for gay sex in their own 763 00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:39,600 Speaker 1: home right consenting in Texas in the twenty one century. 764 00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:42,399 Speaker 1: And this is from Keith from Philadelphia. Not a Colm 765 00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:44,919 Speaker 1: law professor, guys, just a law student. But I thought 766 00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:47,600 Speaker 1: I could help clear this up. And the lawrence of 767 00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:51,720 Speaker 1: e Texas due process point due process is essentially broken 768 00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:57,520 Speaker 1: up into two prongs procedural procedural. That's a bill three 769 00:43:57,560 --> 00:44:01,880 Speaker 1: year old procedural and substant of did I say that right? 770 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:06,760 Speaker 1: Procedural due process is exactly what Josh was talking about. 771 00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:11,800 Speaker 1: Provides you, notice, um, an opportunity to be heard before 772 00:44:11,880 --> 00:44:15,040 Speaker 1: rights are taken away from you. Substantive due process is 773 00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:18,640 Speaker 1: what the court was referring to, and lawrence concept is 774 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:22,760 Speaker 1: somewhat complicated, but simply stated, substantive due process just means 775 00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:26,560 Speaker 1: certain rights that are so fundamental that no amount of 776 00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:30,839 Speaker 1: process or procedure could ever legitimately deprive you of them. 777 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:34,600 Speaker 1: In other words, consenting adults have such a fundamental right 778 00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:37,360 Speaker 1: to privacy behind closed doors that to punish them for 779 00:44:37,400 --> 00:44:40,400 Speaker 1: having consensual sex will violate their due process rights, no 780 00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:44,040 Speaker 1: matter how much procedure they are afforded it. I mean, 781 00:44:44,120 --> 00:44:49,160 Speaker 1: that is as clear as bell as bell future law professor. 782 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:53,200 Speaker 1: I'm losing it here. Thank you Keith from Philly. Thank 783 00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:56,319 Speaker 1: you Keith. That was a I mean, I emailed them 784 00:44:56,320 --> 00:44:57,880 Speaker 1: a media and he's like a lot of people have 785 00:44:57,920 --> 00:44:59,840 Speaker 1: written and thanks to everybody wrote in and get a 786 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:02,919 Speaker 1: at um. But I emailed them back and I was like, Keith, 787 00:45:02,920 --> 00:45:05,759 Speaker 1: because is the first one I've fully gotten. Yeah, Keith, 788 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:08,400 Speaker 1: And I think if you stroll on over to your refrigerator, 789 00:45:08,560 --> 00:45:10,759 Speaker 1: you will find a frozen sticker bar waiting on you 790 00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:12,640 Speaker 1: because we snuck into your home in the middle of 791 00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:16,200 Speaker 1: the night. Whereas Chuck would say, a flozen one. If 792 00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:17,799 Speaker 1: you want to get in touch this like Keith did, 793 00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:19,399 Speaker 1: you can go on the stuff you Should Know dot 794 00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:21,239 Speaker 1: com and check out our social links. Or you can 795 00:45:21,239 --> 00:45:23,239 Speaker 1: send us a good old fashioned email, wrap it up, 796 00:45:23,480 --> 00:45:26,680 Speaker 1: spank it on the bottom, maybe send it along with 797 00:45:26,719 --> 00:45:29,880 Speaker 1: a frozen snicker bar to stuff podcast at iHeart radio 798 00:45:29,960 --> 00:45:35,640 Speaker 1: dot com. Stuff you Should Know is a production of 799 00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:38,440 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more podcasts for my 800 00:45:38,480 --> 00:45:41,160 Speaker 1: heart Radio because at the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 801 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:42,880 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.