Freedom Summer in Mississippi began in 1964, just one year after the assassination of Medgar Evers. It became one of the most important initiatives of the Civil rights movement. Robert (Bob) Moses orchestrated the movement. But in contrast to the movie The Help, which shows black women as pawns, African American women like Fannie Lou Hammer played important leadership roles at the local level in McComb, Mississippi where Freedom Summer began. The goal of Freedom Summer was to combat African American disenfranchisement and the barring of blacks from participating in the state Democratic Party and to defeat the white racist members of the regular Democratic Party. Those who attempted to register to vote often lost their jobs and experienced physical violence and or police harassment. Black and white college students from northern institutions served as volunteers during Freedom Summer. One little known tradition in the Mississippi Delta has been African American entrepreneurs who have sold tamales for a living.
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