Dover Public Library to Host Program on Mississippi Freedom Summer

The Dover Public Library will host a program on the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Project, also known as “Freedom Summer,” on Thursday, June 13 at 6:30 PM. Presented by library director Jim Gill, “Freedom Summer 1964” will educate and inform participants on one of the most iconic and impactful chapters of the Civil Rights Movement, when college kids from around the country descended on Mississippi in the summer of 1964 to help register African-Americans to vote and to open Freedom Schools and Freedom Libraries.

“This June marks the 60th anniversary of this significant Civil Rights initiative,” says Jim Gill. “Often referred to as the “Closed Society” and the “Most Southern Place on Earth,” Mississippi was one of the most segregated states in the Union in the 1960’s, despite Federal laws and court opinions. This program will take a look at what happened in Mississippi in 1964 and why it is so important to American democracy to this day.”

To register for this program, please contact the Dover Public Library at 330-343-6123 or online at www.doverlibrary.org.