Written Reflection:

The leaders of the Freedom Summer expressed their opinions and experience through

their voices, whether others agreed with them or not. Volunteers and leaders exhibited courage in

supporting their viewpoints by placing their lives at risk to make changes in reducing inequality

in voting rights. To effectuate a change, leaders have the courage to start a movement by taking

risks in sharing and expressing their position all while attempting to gain support from others

even when they run into strong opposition, like Robert Moses. Robert Moses launched a voter

registration drive attempting to overcome a voting system which used segregation laws and fear

tactics to deprive Black citizens of the right to vote.

Education is often focused on math and reading, the core subjects. However, the

educational process should also teach students leadership skills and the importance of voicing

your opinion. The classroom should be a safe place where students can express their opinion and

where classmates value each student's voice, whether they agree with their classmate’s position

or not. As students recognize the power their voice has, they increasingly stand up for

themselves, their opinions, and their experiences.

Freedom Summer not only focused on voting rights, but addressed Mississippi’s separate

and unequal public education. The movement established Freedom Schools which educated more

than 3,000 young black students. One of the goals of these schools was to teach these men they

possessed a voice which could change things. Freedom Schools not only educated students on

traditional education courses, but the schools also taught black history, the philosophy of the civil

rights movement and leadership skills to progress the philosophy posited by the murdered

summer volunteers (Freedom Summer 2020).

 Students learn different theories and positions through participating in physical,

life-shaping events and interactive experiences such as the Freedom Summer tour and the art

museum. With the novel approach as opposed to traditional book teaching, students are able to

understand and emotionally relate to the event through reenactment of the experience. The tour

guides warned us while we were sitting in Leonard Auditorium about the mortal dangers of the

trip to Mississippi. I was shocked and angry realizing that our efforts may result in our lives just

like Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner.

Exhibiting the parallels between the Freedom Summer to current movements can help

exhibit to students how movements are always occurring and the purpose behind them is change

for inequality. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement started in 2013 after Trayvon

Martin’s murder, but truly gained strength throughout the United States after George Floyd’s

murder by Minneapolis police officers (Present-Day Black Movements and Leaders, 2021). By

incorporating events currently happening in the world, students are able to see the changes which

have occurred, but also that perspectives still need additional change to effectuate progress. By

students noting changes still need to be made to reach ultimate goals, such as equality, they are

empowered to use their voice to be a powerful voice in change.

Freedom is always a “constant struggle,” with the unlikely ability to reach complete

freedom for all individuals. The concept of freedom continuously evolves, changes and develops

as the world continues to change. History not only helps explain the past, but also places current

events in perspective. For example, Barack Obama was elected as President; it was a symbol of

progress as the first African American President. While the election was a movement forward to

equality, history also helped to explain the ongoing struggle against oppression and inequality

still present.
 In the video at the art museum, Shapiro references the Freedom Summer stressing the

importance of recognizing a humanitarian view of people and valuing people more. He realized

individuals are both powerful and impactful, but most important is the necessity of valuing each

individual for who they are, the experiences they have, and the voice they bring.
 References

Freedom Summer. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. (2020, August

4). Retrieved September 26, 2022, from

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/freedom-summer

González-González, J.-M., Franco-Calvo, J.-G., & Español-Solana, D. (2022). Educating in

history: Thinking historically through historical reenactment. Social Sciences, 11(6), 256.

https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11060256

Present-Day Black Movements and Leaders. (2021, February 25). CONNECT.

https://www.connectnyc.org/present-day-black-movements-and-leaders/