“In 1964, Mississippi civil rights groups decided to bring northern white students to spend the summer working on a voter registration drive and help run “Freedom Schools ,” calculating that their presence would bring national publicity and perhaps federal protection to the effort, knowing from bitter experience how little ripple occurred when local blacks were the victims of violence.”

Freeman mentions the “Freedom Summer” civil rights movement in order to emphasize the fight for liberal activism in all fields. He also uses the civil rights movement as a turning point in the growth of a more militant liberal activism. The increase in aggression was necessary at the time to stand up to violent Ku Klux clan groups. Freeman stresses the increase in extreme thoughts and actions; young white activists expected violence (even death), but knew their suffering would bring about widespread attention to their cause (national publicity).  The death of the three project members on June 21 was a tragedy, but more importantly (from the greater aspect of things) a success in accomplishing what they set out to do.