Home - Freedom Summer Now

– About The Campaign –

Firelight Media’s FREEDOM SUMMER NOW campaign leverages the documentary film, FREEDOM SUMMER, and the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer, to increase civic participation among college-age youth, immigrants and people of color; support voting rights and GOTV efforts; and support multiracial and intergenerational coalition building.

FREEDOM SUMMER NOW is possible due to the generous support from Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the The Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund.

Directed by Emmy-winning MacArthur “genius” Fellow Stanley Nelson, FREEDOM SUMMER is a two-hour film that tells the story of the summer of 1964 when more than 700 student volunteers joined with civil rights movement organizers and local blacks in a historic effort to shatter the foundations of white supremacy in the nation’s most segregated state: Mississippi. FREEDOM SUMMER premiered on the acclaimed PBS series American Experience on June 24, 2014.

Watch The Trailer

– Campaign Blog –

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FIRELIGHT MEDIA LAUNCHES THE FREEDOM SUMMER GOTV TOOLKIT
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A free resource to educate people on the historic fight for voting rights, inspire GOTV volunteers, and mobilize a new generation of voters and voting rights advocates in time for the mid-term elections.

DEAR FERGUSON, A MESSAGE FROM FREEDOM SUMMER VETS
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Freedom Summer architects and volunteers offer advice and support to the organizers and residents of Ferguson, Missouri. Follow #FreedomSummerNow to join the conversation.

FIRELIGHT MEDIA AND THE ANDREW GOODMAN FOUNDATION HOST ONLINE SCREENING
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The two-part online screening on August 20-21 featured live chats with Stanley Nelson, David Goodman, Rev. Julia Chaney-Ross, VotoLatino and United We Dream reps, Racialicious blogger and Mississippi State University professor.

FREEDOM SUMMER SCREENS FOR FREEDOM SUMMER VETS
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On June 24, 2014, FREEDOM SUMMER filmmakers Stanley Nelson, Cyndee Readdean and Director of Engagement Sonya Childress screen the film at the Freedom Summer 50th Anniversary Commemoration in Jackson, Mississippi.

THE MISSISSIPPI FREEDOM SUMMER PROJECT
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Over 10 memorable weeks in 1964 known as Freedom Summer, more than 700 student volunteers from around the country joined organizers and local African Americans in a historic effort to shatter the foundations of white supremacy in what was one of the nation’s most viciously racist, segregated states.

The Mississippi Freedom Summer Project led by Council of Federated Organizations had three components: Voter Registration (in a state where less than 7% of Mississippi’s African Americans were registered to vote); Freedom Schools, popular education centers; and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a parallel party to challenge the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic National Convention.

– Community Resources –

GET OUT THE VOTE TOOLKIT
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The FREEDOM SUMMER: Get Out the Vote Toolkit is a free resource to educate people on the historic fight for voting rights, inspire GOTV volunteers, and mobilize a new generation of voters and voting rights advocates. The Toolkit includes a booklet on voting rights, a history of Freedom Summer, and tips for unlocking the youth vote; and a DVD or flash drive with seven clips from FREEDOM SUMMER, available in English and Spanish.

Download (English) Download (Spanish)

– Watch –

Scroll through our screening room for exclusive clips from FREEDOM SUMMER.

– Upcoming Events –

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September

FREEDOM SUMMER GOTV Toolkit Screenings

National Voter Registration Day

View info

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November

FREEDOM SUMMER Screening

BAM Rose Cinemas. Brooklyn, NY
Screening and talkback with Stanley Nelson

View info

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November

Film as an Organizing Tool Workshop

Facing Race: A National Conference. Dallas, TX
Firelight Media and Working Films present a workshop on using film as an organizing tool, featuring case studies of FREEDOM SUMMER and COME HELL OR HIGH WATER.

View info

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Request A Screening
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To request a copy of the film or GOTV Toolkit, please complete the form.

Freedom Summer Now

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