Freedom Summer
Invited
In the summer of 1964, half of Mississippi’s residents were black and most of them weren’t registered to vote—voting was considered “messing with white people’s business” and could get you killed. Bob Moses’s Freedom Summer Project sent nearly a thousand predominantly white students into the state to work side-by-side with black Mississippians to register voters and establish Freedom Schools to foster political participation. Director Stanley Nelson, a past Full Frame Tribute honoree, delivers a not-to-be-missed account of that tempestuous summer. But the film is no history lesson. In riveting detail, the former volunteers, including Moses, recall their experiences of those volatile summer months, starting with their intensive training during which the group had to overcome its own issues of mistrust. Archival footage shows the students blending into towns across Mississippi where courageous black families welcomed them into their homes and around their supper tables. The summer culminates with Fannie Lou Hamer’s blistering testimony at the 1964 Democratic Convention, a speech that challenged delegates and rattled President Johnson. At a moment of renewed attention to voting rights, the film serves as a timely reminder of past struggles. RS
Director
Stanley Nelson
Producers
Stanley Nelson, Cyndee Readdean
Editor
Aljernon Tunsil
Cinematographer
Antonio Rossi
Release Year
2013
Festival Year
2014
Country
United States
Run Time
113 minutes