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eBook
isbn: 9780823431489
February 28, 2014 | $14.95
isbn: 9780823431489
February 28, 2014 | $14.95
Hardcover
isbn: 9780823429202
March 30, 2014 | $18.95
isbn: 9780823429202
March 30, 2014 | $18.95
Freedom Summer
The 1964 Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi
Paperback | Pages: 144
Size: 8 X 10 | USD: $14.95
ISBN: 9780823435579
Publication Date: January 30, 2016
Age: 10 and up | Guided Reading Level: Y
Themes: 20th Century, Anti Racism / Black Interest / Own Voices / Activism Conversation Starters, Black History, Black Voices, Diversity & Inclusion, Human & Civil Rights
Recommendations: A*,C,H,K,SLJ*
About the Book
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.
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.
AWARDS
- ALA Notable Children's Book
- Bank Street Best Books of the Year
- Booklist Editors' Choices, Books for Youth
- Golden Kite Award Winner
- NCSS-CBC Carter G. Woodson Honor Book
- NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People
- Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book for Young Readers
BONUS MATERIALS

Author/Illustrator Q&A
Freedom Summer / Susan Goldman Rubin
Author of the Month at Chicago Public Library
Author/Illustrator Q&A
Meet-the-Author Susan Goldman Rubin
Book Reading from TeachingBooks.net
Author/Illustrator Q&A
FREEDOM SUMMER Exclusive Transcripts
Interviews conducted by author Susan Goldman Rubin
Promotional Flyer
Freedom Summer
Official Press Kit
Educator's Guide
FREEDOM SUMMER
Educator's Guide featuring questions for classroom discussion★★★THE REVIEWS ARE IN!★★★
★ “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