Nearly 1,500 volunteers arrived in Mississippi during Freedom Summer. Working alongside staff from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) were students, members of the clergy, attorneys, and medical professionals. The effort was coordinated by the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), which combined several different civil rights groups at work in Mississippi. The project director was Robert Moses (SNCC). Dave Dennis (CORE) was the assistant director.
Freedom Summer was a grass-roots movement that garnered support from local African-Americans despite retaliation from pro-segregation forces, such as government officials and the White Citizens’ Councils. Activities included canvassing to increase voter registration, setting up alternative “Freedom Schools,” opening community centers, and holding organizational meetings, all to challenge the exclusion of African-Americans from the political system in Mississippi.