'Freedom Summer' Changed the South 50 Years Ago

A look back at the turning point in the civil rights era.

Justice Was in DeBerry's DNA - Nicknamed "Shorty," DeBerry joined the movement in Holly Springs, Mississippi, at the age of 16. He said he had an "independent streak" that motivated him to fight for justice. "No one needed to teach you that," the 66-year-old DeBerry told AP. "It was just something that was in your DNA." DeBerry met Futorian at a Freedom School, where she was teaching.  (Photo:  AP Photo/Michael Clurman)
"The Freedom House" - A photo of "The Freedom House," obtained from Larry Rubin, from The Associated Press. The home was headquarters to the Council of Federated Organizations, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the NAACP and other groups that converged during Freedom Summer. (Photo: AP Photo/SNCC Legacy Project, Larry Rubin)
Voting Registration Only Signed on Few Voters - In this photo, a woman looks on at a display window of Black and white dolls at Capitol Street in Jackson, Mississippi. Only one-tenth of the 17,000 Black residents who tried to register to vote during the "Freedom Summer" succeeded. Yet, this activism still led to the creation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (Photo: AP Photo/Jim Bourdier, File)
Freedom Summer Created Lifelong Activists - After volunteering, DeBerry later graduated from high school and attended Futorian's alma mater, Brandeis University in Massachusetts. There, he started the Black Student Union and pushed for a Black studies department. (Photo:  AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)Michael Clurman Looks Back on Historic Summer - Michael Clurman was a former volunteer at "Freedom Schools." He joined with DeBerry and knocked on doors to encourage people to register to vote. Clurman looks over photos from the historic summer. (Photo: AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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"The Freedom House" - A photo of "The Freedom House," obtained from Larry Rubin, from The Associated Press. The home was headquarters to the Council of Federated Organizations, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the NAACP and other groups that converged during Freedom Summer. (Photo: AP Photo/SNCC Legacy Project, Larry Rubin)

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