Contents:
Introduction
From: Offices & Headquarters
From: Oxford Training Sessions
From: Batesville & Panola Co.
From: Canton & Madison Co.
From: Clarksdale & Coahoma Co.
From: Cleveland & Bolivar Co.
From: Columbus & Lowndes Co.
From: Greenville & Washington Co.
From: Greenwood & Itta Bena, LeFlore Co.
From: Hattiesburg & Forrest Co.
From: Holly Springs & Marshall Co.
From: Jackson & Hinds Co.
From: Moss Point, Pascagoula, & Biloxi, Jackson Co.
From: Meridian, Lauderdale & Clarke Counties
From: Ruleville & Sunflower Co.
From: Vicksburg & Warren Co.
From: Yazoo City & Yazoo Co.
From: State of Florida
From: State of Louisiana
From: No Location, Misc. & Other
From: New York City
Among Freedom Summer's strategic objectives were raising national awareness of southern realities, demanding Federal action, and mobilizing political support for the Freedom Movement. Summer volunteers were urged to write frequent letters to family, friends, teachers, and ministers about the Freedom Movement and their experiences. Many volunteers arranged to have their letters published in local newspapers, school or church bulletins, or reproduced and distributed to informal networks.
Freedom Summer projects and volunteers were also supposed to send regular progress reports to movement headquarters — and some actually did so.
This was before the era of cheap photocopy machines, so letters and reports had to be retyped with carbon copies, or mimeographed from hand-typed stencils (often by parents who just days or weeks earlier had been desperately pleading with their daughters and sons not to to to Mississippi).
Daily 1964 Summary Reports from Freedom Summer were compiled by the SNCC Communications Department in Atlanta.
"Julian and I in the Communications office of the SNCC office on Hunter Street were in essence the "pulling-together place" for reports so that we could reliably summarize events and share actualities with journalists. Julian would often leave at about 4 pm (for dinner with his wife and kids), saying to me, "So long, Mary. You're in charge." I would then try to pull together any and all reports that we were waiting for, arriving from many and possibly all of our offices. At a certain point we were also dispatching tape-recorded reports of incidents called in from our offices. An actual recording from a site of action is termed an "actuality" in newspeak. I remember working from a list of radio stations and calling each individually to give them an actuality by phone."This was an advanced form of news media liaison — in fact highly advanced for the time — but nonetheless, it required that each transmission by phone be handled individually. I can remember my fingers hurting from managing the manual holding of the tape recorder close to the phone, working generally until late at night, often alone. It had to be done. I also recall that the Black radio stations were extremely grateful for these actualities because they could turn around and broadcast them as a "Special Report from LeFlore County, Mississippi," which enhanced their ability to get the news out and their stature.
"I do recall phoning to initiate contact with our offices in late afternoon and early evening when they failed to transmit their expected reports. I was acutely aware that these might someday provide reliable circumstantial information that could be very useful in accurately portraying the pressures, events, and catastrophes affecting our offices. I sometimes had to chase reports down. This was also something that reporters traveling to local offices cherished, as they could drop data right into the reports they were typing on manual typewriters that they would phone in to their editors."
— Mary King, SNCC.
Letters & Reports Collections from Multiple Mississippi Locations
| 1964 | Mississippi Diary, William Myers & Clark Forman, ECLC |
| 1964 | Letters From Mississippi (collection) |
Reports From COFO & Other Central Offices
| 6/2 | Pine Bluff AR, Hattiesburg MS, New Orleans LA, Jackson MS |
| 6/5 | Hattiesburg & Natchez MS, Pine Bluff AR, Enfield NC |
| 6/8 | Beating in McComb-Summit MS |
| 6/12 | Canton MS, Tuscaloosa & Selma AL |
| 6/13 | Meridian (Mickey Schwerner) MS, Selma AL |
| 6/17 | Jackson & Hattiesburg MS |
| 8/17 | Mississippi Ministers Project — Evaluation, unsigned DM |
| 8/21 | Activities report, Jackson area August 17-21. Unsigned NCC (Ministers Project?) |
Letters & Reports From Oxford OH Volunteer Training
| 5/28 | Dear Vails, letter from Pat Vail (COFO) re preparations for Freedom Summer |
| 6/9 | Why I Am Going to Mississippi, Chude Allen |
| 6/14 | Note from Oxford training session (handwritten), Lucy Montgomery |
| 6/18 | Letter to Tom Levin re medical support for Freedom Summer, Carol Rogoff, SNCC |
| 6/18 | Letter re Orientation & Training, Mike Yarrow |
| 6/16 | Letter re Freedom Summer training, William Hodes |
| 6/22 | Nonviolence debate at Freedom Summer training, William Hodes |
| 6/22 | Dear Family, handwritten letter from Pat Vail (COFO) describing Freedom Summer orientation |
| 6/26 | Dear Family, note from Pat Vail (COFO) from Freedom Summer orientation: Handwritten Original - Typed |
| 6/26 | Dear Parents and All, letter from Eugene Nelson re Chaney, Schwerner, Goodman |
Letters & Reports From Batesville & Panola Co.
| 6/23 | Summer Volunteer Hit By Local White, unsigned COFO |
| 6/25 | Confidential Report, SNCC Activities in Panola County, Claude Weaver, SNCC |
| 6/26 | Sheriff Parades Police Dog at Court House, Unsigned, COFO |
| 6/27 | Local, COFO Volunteer Receives High Parking Fine, Unsigned, COFO |
| 6/28 | Statement re police harassment and traffic violations against R.J. Miles (PCVL), unsigned COFO |
| 6/28 | Police Harassment — Traffic Violations, Unsigned, COFO |
| 6/29 | White Citizen Harassment, unsigned COFO |
| 6/29 | White Citizen Harassment of John Hardy & Joseph Murphy, Unsigned, COFO |
| 6/29 | White Citizen Harassment of John Hardy & Joseph Murphy #2, unsigned, COFO |
| 7/3 | Two Local Whites Chase, COFO Volunteers, Mike Smith, COFO(Batesville ) |
| 7/9 | Letter to Annell Ponder re Greenville community center, Vicki Halper, COFO |
Letters & Reports From Canton & Madison Co.
Letters & Reports From Clarksdale & Coahoma Co.
| 7/2 | Clarksdale -- Rev. Rayford's Trial, unsigned, SNCC |
| 7/21 | Les Johnson Arrested, Clarksdale, . Yvonne Klein, COFO |
| 7/25 | Report From Clarksdale No. 1, Fraser Thomason, DM |
| 7/30 | Report from Clarksdale No. 3, Fraser & Loris Thomason (DM?) |
| 7/31 | Report From Clarksdale No. 5, Frazen Thomason, DM |
| 8/5 | Report Clarksdale No. 7. Fraser Thomson, DM |
| 8/13 | Report From Clarksdale No. 9, Frazier & Loris Thomason |
| 8/15 | Report From Clarksdale No. 10, Frazier Thomason |
Letters & Reports From Cleveland & Bolivar Co.
| 6/28 | Sunflower and Bolivar counties update #1, Jerry Tecklin, COFO |
| ??? | A new spirit in Shaw, George Robbins, COFO |
| 7/7 | Sunflower and Bolivar counties update #2, Jerry Tecklin, COFO |
| 7/13 | Report—Terror in Shaw, Wally Roberts, SNCC |
| 7/19 | Sunflower and Bolivar counties update #3, Jerry Tecklin, COFO |
| 7/23 | Report on work as minister-counsellor, Shaw project, George Phelps, DM |
| ??? | Letter about mood & emotion, Heather Tobis Booth. Undated. Shaw, Sunflower Co. |
| Aug | Report: Arrested for Leafletting, Wally Roberts |
| Aug | Dear Steve, Heather Tobis Booth. On leaving Mississippi and looking back at the summer (Ruleville & Shaw). |
| 8/31 | Report on Shaw, Mississippi, Charles Harper, UCC |
| 9/2 | Report: Observations Regarding Cleveland, Robert Hall & Robert Gregg |
Letters & Reports From Columbus & Lowndes Co.
| 7/8 | Report on Trip to Columbus, Lowndes Co, Don Elliott, COFO, |
| 7/14 | Civil Right arrests and trials, Columbus. Unsigned, COFO |
| 7/30 | The District One Project July 17-30, W.M. Weber, DM |
| Aug | A freedom worker's description of venturing into downtown Columbus, unsigned, COFO |
| 8/4 | Columbus activities. Mike Higson, COFO |
| 8/14 | Bi-Weekly Report, Richard Wheelock? COFO? |
| 8/20 | Report of Minister Counselor of Columbus, Philip M. Kelsey |
| 8/21 | Report from Columbus, August 17-21. William O. Smith, Ministers Project? |
Letters & Reports From Greenville & Washington Co.
| 6/23 | Political and racial situation, unsigned COFO |
| 6/29 | Suspicious cars, Unsigned, COFO |
| 6/30 | Greenville research report, Unsigned, COFO |
| 6/30 | Weekly Report to Jackson, Unsigned COFO |
| June July | Dear Pop/Mom, four letters to family from Oxford and Greenville. "Rusty" Allen. |
| July | Dear Gang, Pat Vail, COFO |
| 7/2 | Dear Gang Original handwritten version -Retyped version, Pat Vail (COFO) |
| 7/3 | Dear Gang, letter re Greenville project and freedom schools. Pat Vail COFO |
| 7/5 | Incident of July 5th, Greenville. Unsigned COFO |
| 7/6/ | Letter to Mr. & Mrs. J.H. Vail, parents of Pat Vail (COFO) re federal protection for Freedom Summer activists. Senator Hugh Scott (R-PA) |
| 7/9 | Report on visit to Sheriff of Washington County, Greenville. Louis Grant, COFO? |
| 7/10 | Dear FamilyOriginal handwritten -Retyped version, Pat Vail (COFO) |
| 7/12 | Weekly report: Greenville, . Unsigned COFO |
| 7/17 | Dear Miss Vail, letter to Pat Vail (COFO) re federal protection for Freedom Summer activists, Senator Joseph Clark (D-PA) |
| 7/17 | Dear Pat, support letter & donation from Operation Mississippi in Pittsburgh PA |
| 7/25 | Dear Pat, letter from Howard(?) Howe, Harvard Law School |
| Aug | Dear FamilyOriginal handwritten -Retyped version, Pat Vail (COFO) |
| 8/6 | Dear Mom and Dad, Pat Vail, COFO. Re MFDP and the Greenville project. |
| 8/28 | Letter From Irene & Everett MacNair |
Letters & Reports From Greenwood & Itta Bena, LeFlore Co.
| 6/26 | FBI Investigation and Arrests in Itta Bena, Unsigned |
| 7/27 | Report on mob violence against SNCC workers. Betty Garman & Julian Bond |
Letters & Reports From Hattiesburg & Forrest Co.
See also Hattiesburg Reports & Evaluation Forms
| 6/24 | Report from Ron Ridenour about incidents in Hattiesburg |
| 6/29 | SNCC staff worker Pete Stoner arrested and beaten, Hattiesburg, unsigned, SNCC |
| 7/11 | Report to Greenwood and Atlanta; re: Hattiesburg, T. Shaw, DM |
| 7/23 | Report on work as minister-counsellor, Shaw project, George Phelps, DM |
| 7/24 | Report from Hattiesburg. Beech, Cameron, COFO |
| 7/26 | Report from Hattiesburg, T. Shaw, Delta Ministry? |
| 8/3 | Report from Hattiesburg, Beech & Cameron, COFO |
| 8/10 | Report to Greenwood and Atlanta; re: Hattiesburg, T. Shaw, DM |
| 8/11 | Report from Hattiesburg, Beech & Cameron, DM/COFO |
| 8/14 | Hattiesburg Project, Summer 1964, Report to Civil Rights Commission. Unsigned (presumed from ministers project) |
| 8/15 | Greenwood-Atlanta report from Hattiesburg, Terry Shaw, SNCC? |
| 8/20 | Note to Caroline Ballin, by unidentified seminary student, re her statement |
| 8/20 | Note to William G. Lamb, by unidentified seminary student, re Lamb's letter to the editor |
| 8/26 | Dear Family and Friends, letter/report from Cornelia Mack |
| 9/1 | Report Ministers Project, Hattiesburg . Aug 24-Sept 1. Fannie Bennet, NCC |
| 9/12 | Dear Friend, letter to funders re trip to Hattiesburg. John Crossley Jr. NCC |
Letters & Reports From Holly Springs & Marshall Co.
| July | Three Letters & Reports From a Freedom School Teacher, Chude Allen |
| 7/8 | Letter re the freedom project, Gitta Perl |
| 7/8 | Letter re leave of absence, David W. Trimble |
| 7/12 | Weekly report, Kathleen Dahl |
| 7/13 | Letter re end of service, Gitta Perl |
| 7/19 | Weekly report, Eugene Hunn |
| 7/19 | Weekly report, Ruth Koening |
| 7/26 | Weekly report, Ruth Koening |
| 7/26 | Weekly report, Eugene Hunn |
| 7/26 | Letter regarding research & information, Mary Jennings |
| 8/2 | Weekly report, Eugene Hunn |
| 8/2 | Report on visit to Welfare Office, Eugene Hunn |
| 8/5 | Field report from Holly Springs. Harriet Tanzman, COFO |
| 8/9 | Weekly report, Eugene Hunn |
| 8/19 | Letter re Frank Caccatori (Frank Cieciorka), Karin Kunstler |
| 10/22 | Letter re news from San Francisco, Sandy |
Letters & Reports From Jackson & Hinds Co.
| 6/30 | Incident Sheet - Volunteers arrested by Jackson police, Unsigned, COFO |
| 7/2 | Dear Jack, letter re MFDP. Signature illegible |
| 7/19 | Report re Talk at Millsap College Ed, Johnnie, Len, Diane, Jackson, |
Letters & Reports From Moss Point, Pascagoula, Biloxi, & Jackson Co.
Letters & Reports From Meridian, Lauderdale & Clarke Counties,
| See also Letters & Field Reports Canton & Meridian | ||
| July? | Clark County - Stonewall community contact list, unsigned, COFO. Undated Freedom Summer | |
| July? | List of Towns and Citys in Clarke County,, unsigned COFO | |
| July? | Trainers for voter registration and federal programs & welfare, unsigned Clarke Co. COFO | |
| 7/29 | Report: County Meeting of the Clarke County Freedom Democratic Party, unsigned MFDP | |
| 8/11 | Report on the activities of an NCC counsellor, Rev. Felix Danford Lion. | |
Letters & Reports From Ruleville & Sunflower Co.
| See also Letters & Field Reports Sunflower Co. & Ruleville | ||
| June | Arriving in , first days, & fear., Mike Yarrow | |
| 1964 | Christopher Hexter bogus trial notes for obstructing traffic, Unsigned, COFO | |
| 6/9 | SV Girl Reports From Mississippi, Gretchen Schwarz, (Sunnyvale Standard) Report from Ruleville on Freedom School. | |
| 6/28 | Sunflower and Bolivar counties update #1, Jerry Tecklin, COFO | |
| 7/1 | Letter home, Wally Roberts | |
| 7/2 | Experiences of a Summer Volunteer #1, Mike Yarrow | |
| 7/2 | Mr. and Mrs.Charliz, Michael Yarrow. Note about race relations | |
| 7/7 | Sunflower and Bolivar counties update #2, Jerry Tecklin, COFO | |
| 7/11 | Experiences of a Summer Volunteer #2, Mike Yarrow | |
| 7/18 | Account of Arrest and Jail, Mike Yarrow | |
| 7/19 | Sunflower and Bolivar counties update #3, Jerry Tecklin, COFO | |
| 7/27 | Experiences of a Summer Volunteer #3, Mike Yarrow | |
| 7/31 | Report with suggestions concerning the Ruleville project, Allan Levine & Charles Andrews, DM | |
| 8/5 | Dear Mom, Gretchen Schwarz, Report from Ruleville on MFDP. | |
| ??? | Dear Friends, George Robbins. Poverty, violence & the Movement in Shaw MS. Undated. 6 pages. | |
| 9/11 | Report (pages missing), Gretchen Schwarz. | |
Letters & Reports From Vicksburg & Warren Co.
| 8/17 | Vicksburg Mississippi Ministers Project Evaluation, Dick Williams? |
Letters & Reports From Yazoo City & Yazoo Co.
| 7/9 | Incident Sheet - Arrest of folk singer Roger Johnson in Bentonia, unsigned COFO |
Letters & Reports From State of Florida
| 6/22 | All-Day, CORE Conference, Dunnellon Florida, Judy Benninger, CORE |
| 8/5 | Weekly Report, CORE Florida Task Force, Judy Benninger, CORE |
Letters & Reports From State of Louisiana
| 6/13 | Dear People, letter re journey South & CORE training, Plaquimines, LA, Peggy Ewan (Meg Redden) |
No Location, Misc. & Other
| 5/31 | Letter From Jim Boebel, about Freedom Summer |
| 1964 | Report From Amite County, Marshall Ganz, COFO |
| ??? | Dear Mother, John Stevenson. Re MFDP. Undated. No location. |
| July | Memo re Second District MFDP Convention, undated. Stokely Carmichael, SNCC |
| June? | Human Rights Project in Mississippi, will you help me? Virginia Steele, UC Berkeley. Appeal for resources. |
| July | A Report From Mississippi, Gail Falk, COFO. (Pittsburgh Post Gazette) |
| Summer | Excerpts from letters, Richard Swanson |
| 7/7 | Federal Programs Project Weekly Report, Michael Piore, COFO, Canton |
| 7/7 | Freedom School at Asbury Church, Unsigned COFO, [Handwritten report] |
| 7/8 | Appeal letter, Marylin Rapley. To faculty member. No location |
| 7/11 | Mississippi, Marilyn Rapley, report from Laurel MS. |
| 7/13 | Letter to Amzie Moore re support for, COFO, Rep. Don Edwards |
| 7/16 | Lettter From a Freedom School Teacher, Dorothy Teal. Carthage . |
| 7/16 | Courthouse Situation Issaquena Co. Muriel, COFO |
| 7/18 | Communication & Transportation letter, Sara Lieber & Ruth Steward, COFO/CORE |
| 7/21 | Letter to Steve Blum re community center at Biloxi, Annell Ponder, SCLC |
| 7/29 | Response to question about registering illiterates and COFO's One-Man-One-Vote stand |
| 8/7 | Report on Freedom School, Cedar Grove (Newton County), Prickett, Nelson, Tompkins, COFO |
| 8/8 | Report on Freedom Democratic Party work toward educational meetings, Mabel Metzer, MFDP |
| 7/22 | Report on meeting with Joe _____, (handwritten), Wesley A_______ |
| 7/22 | Report on meeting with Ralph Wisedess? (handwritten), Wesley A_______ |
| 7/23 | Report on meeting with Rev. S_____ Mason?, (handwritten) |
| 7/24 | Memo to George (Raymond?), re request for speaker in Rankin Co. , Natalie Tompkins, COFO |
| 7/24 | Report from Mississippi NAACP Headquarters, re Dr. King speaking tour & other topics, Lee Ball |
| 7/25 | Report of Visit to Mississippi, July 19-25. A. Stauffer Curry, DM |
| 7/31 | Report from Starkville, unsigned |
| 8/8 | Mississippi Summer Project – Experiences and Observations, July 26-August 8. Albert Ronander |
| 8/8 | Report on the Summer Project. Alvin Pam |
| 8/20 | Mississippi Project Report, 14-page general report by Calvin Petersen |
| 8/24 | Letter re funding community centers, Kaufman, Levine, Lodge |
Letters & Reports From New York City
| 7/4 | To Mrs. Hodes re Newsletter, Kay Raphael, parents group |
| 7/20 | Notes on parents meeting with James Forman, Steve Schwerner, Unsigned COFO? SNCC? |
| 2/9 | Meeting of Miss. Project Parent's Committee, Unsigned |
You can postal-mail photocopies to us or email PDF scans to webmaster@crmvet.org.SeeSubmissions Policy for more information.
See also:
Summer Project Documents
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) Documents
Freedom Summer Press Releases
Freedom Summer Articles by Movement Veterans
MFDP Articles by Movement Veterans
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