In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Freedom Summer project, faculty and fellows from
the Carter G. Woodson Institute and the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia
will conduct a day-long workshop entitled “Teaching Freedom Summer” on September 20,
2014.

In 1964, civil rights organizations, citizens of Mississippi, and student volunteers from across the
country came together to challenge segregation in one of the nation’s most racially oppressive
and violent states. They registered African American voters who had been denied the right to
vote, established Freedom Schools, organized Freedom Votes and created the Mississippi
Freedom Democratic Party, dedicated to unseating the whites-only Mississippi delegation for
the Democratic National Convention of 1964. It was a strategic experiment that rocked the
nation and fundamentally challenged white supremacy in the South.

Drawing on film, music and primary sources, the morning session will examine the history of
Freedom Summer, its impact, contradictions and legacy. The afternoon session will provide
pedagogical tools and strategies for teaching Freedom Summer 1964, and discuss links to the
History and Social Sciences Standards of Learning for the Virginia Public Schools.  
 

Program Agenda

8:30 – 9:00

Registration and Refreshments

9:00 – 9:15

Welcome & Introductions

9:15 – 9:35

Session I: New Directions in Teaching Civil Rights History
Derrick P. Alridge – Professor of Leadership, Foundations & Policy, Curry School of Education

9:35 – 10:30

Session II: “Freedom is a Constant Struggle”: The Mississippi Project of 1964
Nicole Burrowes & LaTasha Levy – Fellows, Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies

10:30 – 10:45

Break

10:45 – 11:35

Session II Continued

11:35 – 12:15

Session III: “From Civil Rights to Hip Hop”: Message in the Music
Derrick P. Alridge

12:15 – 1:00

Lunch

1:00 – 1:30

Session IV: Revising the Narrative: Rethinking Civil Rights Through the Lens of Freedom Summer, Nicole Burrowes and LaTasha Levy

1:30 – 2:30

Session V: Pedagogical Applications & the Virginia Standards of Learning
Stephanie Van Hover – Associate Professor, Department Chair of Curriculum, Instruction & Special Education

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