Freedom Summer of 1964 involved a massive effort to register voters. Which group was the primary focus of this effort?

• A. Blacks
• B. Whites who were not citizens
• C. Immigrants
• D. Women

Answer: (A)

The main idea is to boost political participation by registering Black voters in Mississippi. Freedom Summer targeted African Americans, who had been systematically disenfranchised for generations under Jim Crow laws. In Mississippi, barriers like literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation, and violence kept Black citizens from the polls, so volunteers focused on educating and registering them, helping communities organize, and pushing for federal enforcement of voting rights. While other groups faced their own challenges, the campaign’s purpose was to empower Black Mississippians to vote and participate in shaping local and national politics, a step aimed at dismantling segregated political systems and advancing broader civil rights reforms.