Question

Why did SNCC set up the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party?

Select the best answer from the choices provided.
A. to offer African Americans an opportunity to vote for representatives at the Democratic Convention
B. because in Mississippi there was no Democratic Party
C. because African Americans did not have a candidate from the SNCC on the ballot
D. because African Americans had not previously been interested in politics

Answer 1

Option (A), The SNCC created the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the exclusion of African Americans from the Democratic primaries and to demand representation at the Democratic Convention, leading to the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Step-by-step explanation:

The SNCC set up the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) to offer African Americans an opportunity to vote for representatives at the Democratic Convention, challenging the legitimacy of the white-only Mississippi delegation. This was a response to the exclusion of black voters from the Democratic primaries in Mississippi, where white Democrats claimed their party was private and thus exempt from the Fifteenth Amendment which prohibited racial discrimination in voting.

The establishment of the MFDP was a historic move during the Civil Rights Movement, spearheaded by civil rights activists like Fannie Lou Hamer, aiming to fight disenfranchisement and racial discrimination. Their effort was a critical step towards the eventual passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act which allowed federal intervention in voter registration process to rectify racial discrimination.