Final answer:
The Mississippi Freedom Summer was a campaign in 1964 where college students and local African Americans joined forces to challenge the disenfranchisement of black voters in the South. They taught reading skills for literacy tests and formed the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to protest exclusionary voting practices. The effort faced intense opposition, including the murder of three civil rights workers, but played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1964, hundreds of college students and local African Americans launched a campaign known as the Mississippi Freedom Summer to address the systemic disenfranchisement of black voters in Mississippi and the South. This initiative was a grassroots effort to combat the harsh voting restrictions that had effectively barred African Americans from voting, such as literacy tests and other discriminatory practices.
During the Freedom Summer, volunteers, including many from Northern colleges, taught reading skills necessary for passing literacy tests and assisted in establishing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) to challenge the exclusionary practices of the state's white-dominated Democratic Party. This direct action was in response to the long-standing racial injustices that pervaded the voting system, effectively silencing African American voices in the electoral process.
The campaign faced extreme resistance and violence from white segregationists and state authorities. Notably, three civil rights workers—James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman—were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan during the campaign, exemplifying the high stakes and dangers associated with the struggle for voting rights.