In 1964, Mississippi civil rights groups banded together to fight Jim Crow laws in a state where only 6.4 percent of eligible black voters were registered. 

Testing a bold new strategy, they recruited students from across the United States. That summer these young volunteers defied segregation by living with local black hosts, opening Freedom Schools to educate disenfranchised adults and their children, and canvassing door-to-door to register voters.

Everyone involved knew there would be risks but were nonetheless shocked when three civil rights workers disappeared and were soon presumed murdered. The organizers' worst fears were realized as volunteers, local activists, and hosts faced terror on a daily basis. Yet by the middle of August, incredible strides had been made in spite of the vicious intimidation. The summer unleashed an unstoppable wave of determination from black Mississippians to demand their rights and helped bring about a new political order in the American South. 

Fifty years after this landmark civil rights project in Mississippi, an award-winning author offers a riveting account of events that stunned the nation. Includes over 75 photographs, drawings, original documents, a timeline, source notes, bibliography, maps, and an index.

★ “This meticulously researched, compellingly told account covers an incredible moment in history. . . . [Freedom Summer] is the epitome of excellent historical reporting, with the human element never forgotten.”
—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ “This well-researched and heartfelt work covers every angle, thereby honoring the brave inroads made by activists a half-century ago.”
—Booklist, Starred Review

“A fascinating treatment of a key civil rights moment.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Meticulously researched and well documented . . . Firsthand accounts—along with copious black-and-white photographs—bring the events to life.”
—The Horn Book