freedom summer USING THIS GUIDE ABOUT THE FILM
TEachi n g the fi l m:
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS &
MEDIA LITERACY RESOURCES
Grades 7-12
CLASSROOM GUIDE SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES
ARTICLES AND REVIEWS
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITIES
Freedom Summer is a documentary film about activism for voting rights in Mississippi in the summer of 1964. A class screening of the film may complement a US history or civics curriculum and will add a human and emotional context to the study of civil rights. Taught in conjunction with this guide, the film will empower students to think critically about the harsh realities of American history and the legacy of the civil rights movement. Discussion questions and supplemental materials facilitate further research into related topics such as the recent repeal of the Voting Rights Act by the U.S. Supreme Court, coalition building and activism in American history, and the role of the media in facilitating social and political change.
All SFFS Youth Education materials are developed in alignment with California educational standards for media literacy. SFFS Youth Education welcomes feedback and questions on all printed study materials.
Please direct all comments and queries to Keith Zwölfer, Youth Education Manager: San Francisco Film Society Youth Education 39 Mesa Street, Suite 110 - The Presidio San Francisco, CA 94129-1025
[email protected] 415.561.5040
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Usi n g thi s gui d e This study guide is intended to flexibly support educators in preparing for and following up on a class screening of Freedom Summer. Support
about the fi l m Stanley Nelson’s follow up to his Emmy-winning documentary Freedom Riders (2010) powerfully captures the incendiary events of the summer of 1964 in Mississippi, the nation’s most segregated state at that time. Through the use of rare archival footage, as well as incisive commentary from several participants from all sides of the conflict, Nelson documents the subsequent formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and national rise of the Civil Rights movement. It was a period of history where voting rights organizations and hundreds of young volunteers, both black and white, worked tirelessly to register African-Americans in Mississippi districts. Other significant strides are examined, including the establishment of Freedom Schools and Freedom Houses to educate and aid the local African American populations. Penetrating a complicated minefield of social unrest, Freedom Summer shines a light on the many heroes of the movement, including Robert Moses and Fannie Lou Hamer, while documenting widely noted events of that time: the Ku Klux Klan murders of James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Mickey Schwerner in Meridian, MS; the 1964 Democratic National Convention; and the eventual passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Freedom Summer provides poignant testimony for an imperative moment in our nation’s history. –Leah LoSchiavo
materials are intended to facilitate group discussion, individual and collaborative creative exercise, subjectbased learning and access to resources for further investigation of material. Educators are encouraged to adapt and abridge the content as necessary to meet their unique learning objectives and circumstances.
Stanley Nelson (USA, 2014) 113 minutes, English, Grades 7-12
Recommended Subject Areas: Art/Media American History Social Studies Civil Rights
Key concepts / buzzwords: Activism Civil Rights Democracy Lyndon Johnson The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Racism SNCC Terrorism Voting Rights Act
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di s cussi o n questi o ns Pre-viewing topics and discussion: Freedom Summer is an excellent companion film to a unit on the history of civil rights in America. To tie the film to existing curricula, lead students in a review of what they already know about the civil rights movement, particularly in Mississippi. • • •
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What characterized the struggle for civil rights in the American South? What was Jim Crow? What restrictions did the southern establishment place on African Americans to limit their civic participation? What risks did African American individuals and families take when they stood up for their rights to participate in democracy? Who were the leaders of the struggle for social and civic justice, and what were their goals?
post-viewing discussion: Character and Story
2) Who participated in Freedom Summer? • Who were the leaders of the project and who were the volunteers? • What challenges did the leaders and volunteers face during the orientation and early days of the project? • Describe the process by which the black leaders and the white volunteers overcame racial divisions and formed a coalition. • Why was an interracial coalition so important to this project, and what does the importance of the white allies reveal about race, media, public opinion and power in American society? Are these concerns still relevant? • What additional personal and social benefits did the volunteers, the organizers, and the host families experience through building an interracial coalition?
what can you do to honor and advance the goals of the civil rights movement?
1) Describe the civil rights movement in Mississippi before Freedom Summer. • Who were the leaders of the local movement and what were their goals? • Who was Bob Moses? What role did he play in building the movement in Mississippi? • What challenges did civil rights organizers face in standing up to the racist power structures in Mississippi? • Why did they decide to “open” Mississippi to the rest of the country, and what was their strategy?
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3) What were your impressions of the interviews with the veterans who participated in Freedom Summer? • What learning did the volunteers take from the experience? • What was the impact among youth in the Mississippi communities that participated? • What did you think of the testimony of William Scarborough, the former member of the White Citizens’ Council? Were you surprised to hear an opponent of civil rights speaking so openly? The 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act occurs in June 2014. What can your generation do to honor, perpetuate and advance the goals of the civil rights movement? Are these goals still relevant?
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4) Who is Fannie Lou Hamer? • Why was her presence, her voice and her message so important to the movement? • How was she similar to other public figures in the civil rights movement, and how was she different?
Context 1) What were the three goals of Freedom Summer? • Which of those goals were accomplished during the project and which were accomplished in its aftermath? • What social, civic, and political changes resulted from the activism in Mississippi during the summer of 1964? • Did the actions in Mississippi affect change nationwide? Why or why not?
3) The word terrorism is used throughout this film, but in a different context than we are used to hearing it in mainstream American media. • Define terrorism • Was the violence experienced by black communities in Mississippi and elsewhere in the Jim Crow south tantamount to terrorism? • What are the common associations that we have about terrorism and terrorists in post-9/11 America? • Do you think that our current government should officially acknowledge 1960s terrorism by the white supremacist power structure against black communities in the Jim Crow South? • How would such an acknowledgement change our cultural mythology about America and its relationship to terrorism (e.g. The War on Terror)? • Why are context, cultural connotations, and associations so important to the words that we use repeatedly in our media? How does context change the meaning of a word like terrorism?
why is voting such an important civil right ?
2) Why is voting such an important civil right? • What tactics did white supremacists in the Jim Crow South use to prevent African American people from voting? Why were they afraid of the black vote? • What was the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and what protections did it include? • Why were certain states required to have federal oversight for their voting procedures? • Will you vote when you turn 18? What is the current voter registration process in your state? • In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, liberating Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia of federal oversight. Chief Justice John Roberts said that “our country has changed” and we no longer need to worry about racial discrimination at the polls. Do you think that America is cured of institutional racism, or is voter discrimination still a concern?
4) What was the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party? • What happened when the MFDP tried to replace the segregationist delegation from Mississippi at the Democratic National Convention? • What was incumbent presidential nominee Lyndon Johnson’s reaction to the MFDP? Was he opposed to the party for personal or political reasons, or both? • Johnson later signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and he is remembered as a president who advanced the cause of civil rights. What do you think changed his mind about civil rights legislation?
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How did the MFDP’s defeat at the DNC affect African American political organizing in years following?
5) What were the Freedom Schools? • Why was there such a need for education in the African American communities in Mississippi? • How was the curriculum at the Freedom Schools different from the curriculum taught in the public school system? • Why is it important to teach African American history to all students in the United States? • Do you think that our modern school system puts enough emphasis on African American history and the history of other oppressed and minority communities in the United States?
Style and Message/Reading the Film for Media Literacy 1) What were your reactions to Freedom Summer? • Why do you think the filmmakers wanted to tell this story? • Is this a timely and relevant film? Why or why not?
3) The film uses extensive archival footage, including photographs, moving images, and sound from the 1960s. • Why was it important for the filmmakers to use archival footage? • How did they move back and forth between the present and the past? • Were these images that you had seen before, or were they new to you? • What did you notice about the historic imagery that is different from modern film and photography? 4) The film opens with a statement from one of the volunteers: “My high school social studies teacher taught me that we all had rights. Mississippi summer taught me that we didn’t all have rights.” • What is the effect of placing this statement right at the beginning of the film. • Have you had any experiences that defied the history or the values that you learned in school? • What effect did those experiences have on you?
2) How do the filmmakers make use of the music of the civil rights movement? • Have you heard any of these songs before? • How did the music make you feel? • What associations do you have with the music? What does it make you think of? • How did the filmmakers use these sounds and associations to create atmosphere in the film?
do you think our school system puts enough emphasis on african american history? ?
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post-viewing ACTIVITIES: 1 ) Interview an elder in your family, school, or community about his or her experience of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. • Write a set of interview questions based on Freedom Summer and other knowledge you have about civil rights history (e.g. What was it like to watch the media coverage? Did he or she participate in any activist activities? What has changed between then and now? What is the role of young people in continuing to fight for social justice?). • You may choose to record your interview with a smart phone, video camera, or audio recorder, or simply take written notes. • Create a report on the interview, either as an article or blog post, or as a short documentary. • For more information about classroom media projects, visit http://filmed.sffs.org/. 2) Journaling Activity: Reflect on the film. • Why is it important to watch films and tell stories about American history? • As a young person living in 21st century America, what is your relationship to the civil rights movement? How does this history affect your daily life?
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California Media Literacy Standards Addressed In This Lesson: •
Grade 8: Standard 1.9 Interpret and evaluate the various ways in which visual image makers (e.g., graphic artists, illustrators, news photographers) communicate information and affect impressions and opinions.
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Grades 9 & 10: Standard 1.14 Identify the aesthetic effects of a media presentation and evaluate the techniques used to create them (e.g., compare Shakespeare’s Henry V with Kenneth Branagh’s 1990 film version).
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Grades 9 & 10: Standard 1.2 Compare and contrast the ways in which media genres (e.g., televised news, news magazines, documentaries, online information) cover the same event.
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Grades 11 & 12: Standard 1.1 Recognize strategies used by the media to inform, persuade, entertain, and transmit culture (e.g., advertisements; perpetuation of stereotypes; use of visual representations, special effects, language); Standard 1.3 Interpret and evaluate the various ways in which events are presented and information is communicated by visual image makers (e.g., graphic artists, documentary filmmakers, illustrators, news photographers).
For more information about media literacy standards in your state, visit: • MediaLiteracy.com: resources for advancing media education, United States Standards for media literacy education. http://www.medialiteracy.com/standards.htm • Frank W Baker’s guide to State Standards Which Include Elements of Media Literacy. http://frankwbaker.com/ state_lit.htm
Common Core Standards Addressed In This Lesson: This lesson addresses the English and Language Arts standards for Reading Informational Texts grades8-12. Additional specific standard applications are listed below: •
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
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medi a li t eracy resources SCREENING WITH MEANING We live in a world where technology mediates a large portion of human interaction and the exchange of information. Every projected image, every word published on a page or a website, and every sound from a speaker reaches its audience through the medium, through the language of the device. The ability to parse the vast array of media messages is an essential skill for young people, particularly in a mainstream commercial culture that targets youth as a vulnerable, impressionable segment of the American marketplace. Most students already have a keen understanding of the languages different media use and the techniques they employ to inspire particular emotions or reactions, but they often lack the skill or awareness to fully deconstruct the messages they continuously receive.
MEDIUM
CORE CONCEPTS OF MEDIA ANALYSIS
Analysis of a media message—or any piece of mass media content—can best be accomplished by first identifying its principal characteristics: (1) Medium: the physical means by which it is contained and/or delivered (2) Author: the person(s) responsible for its creation and dissemination (3) Content: the information, emotions, values or ideas it conveys (4) Audience: the target audience to whom it is delivered (5) Purpose: the objectives of its authors and the effects of its dissemination. Students who can readily identify these five core characteristics will be equipped to understand the incentives at work behind media messages, as well as their potential consequences. Media literacy education empowers students to become responsible consumers, active citizens and critical thinkers.
All Media Is Constructed. How is the message delivered and in what format? What technologies are used to present the message? What visual and auditory elements are used? What expectations do you bring to the content, given its medium and format?
AUTHOR
All Media Is Constructed by Someone. Who is delivering the message? Who originally constructed the message? What expectations do you have of the content, given its author(s)?
CONTENT
All Media Is A Language. What is the subject of the media message? What information, values, emotions or ideas are conveyed by the media content? What tools does the author employ to engage the viewer and evoke a response? To what extent did the content meet your expectations, given the format/author?
AUDIENCE
All Media Messages Reach an Audience. Who receives the message? For whom is the message intended? What is the public reaction to the media content and/or its message? What is your reaction to the media content and/or its message? How might others perceive this message differently? Why?
PURPOSE
All Media Messages Are Constructed for a Reason. Why was the message constructed? Who benefits from dissemination of the message? How? To what extent does the message achieve its purpose? What effect does the message have on the audience it reaches, if any?
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THE NON-FICTION FILM
WHAT IS A DOCUMENTARY? A documentary is a film whose goal is to capture truth, fact or reality as seen through the lens of the camera. But there are many kinds of documentaries, and not everyone’s idea of truth is the same. The Scottish filmmaker John Grierson coined the term “documentary” in 1926 to describe American filmmaker Robert Flaherty’s romanticized culture studies, but nonfiction filmmaking dates back to the earliest motion picture reels. The definition of documentary expanded as filmmakers experimented with technology and the goals of nonfiction. Avant-garde documentarians, like Dziga Vertov in the 1920s, believed that the mechanical eye of the camera gave a truer image of reality than the human eye and pointed his lens at newly industrialized cities. Leni Reifenstahl’s propaganda films from Nazi Germany used the nonfiction form to convey a political message, a slanted truth. The international cinema vérité or observational movements of the 1960s attempted to remove authorship from the documentary. The observational filmmaker hovered like a “fly on the wall” watching the world without commentary. Modern documentaries often seek to raise awareness about a social, environmental or political issue, guiding their audiences toward civic participation and activism. While watching a documentary, it is important to remember the core concepts of media analysis: who made the film, for what audience and why? The nonfiction format can be deceptively subjective, as all filmmaking involves an inherent selection process: in the images that are shot, the music and narration that accompanies them and, most significantly, the way in which they are all edited together. Media literacy means always analyzing a documentary for its message and authorial intent.
A BRIEF TIMELINE OF THE DOCUMENTARY 1895
The Lumiere brothers developed the first motion picture film reels, capturing brief, unedited clips of life around them called “actualities” (e.g., Train Arriving at the Station)
1900-1920
Travelogue or “Scenic” films became popular, showcasing exoticised images from around the globe.
1926
John Grierson coined the term “documentary” to describe Robert Flaherty’s romantic nonfiction film, Moana.
1929
Dziga Vertov, with the Soviet Kino-Pravda movement, released the experimental nonfiction film, Man With a Movie Camera.
1935
Leni Reifenstahl released Triumph of the Will, the infamous propaganda film that chronicled the 1934 Nazi Party Congress.
1939
John Grierson collaborated with the Canadian government to form the National Film Board of Canada, with the initial goal of creating Allied propaganda in support of the war.
1960s
The cinema vérité movement began in Europe, shortly followed by “direct cinema” in the U.S. Portable cameras and sync sound allowed filmmakers to capture intimate footage with minimal intervention.
1968
The Argentine film, La Hora de los Hornos (The Hour of the Furnaces) opened the door to the activist cinema of the 1970s, which used film as a tool to counter capitalist and neo-colonial politics in Latin America.
1988
The US Congress mandated that the US government support the creation of independent non-commercial media, and the Independent Television Service (ITVS) was founded.
2000s
The widespread use of digital cameras and editing software made the documentary medium vastly more affordable to independent and amateur filmmakers. Video sharing sites such as YouTube and Vimeo allowed amateur filmmakers to broadcast their work.
Present Day
The term “documentary” has come to encompass a wide range of nonfiction cinema. Contemporary filmmakers continue to push the boundaries of truth in film and to explore new avenues and applications for the medium.
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THE MAKING OF A DOCUMENTARY Idea, Issue, Story. Even though they are nonfiction films, most modern documentaries structure their content around a traditional story arc, with a beginning, middle and end, as well as characters, and a conclusion, theme or thesis to impart to the audience. Documentary filmmakers begin their projects with an idea or an issue that they wish to explore more deeply. Through research and planning, they develop a comprehensive plan before they begin shooting. The Production Process. To capture candid moments on film, modern documentary makers often leave the camera running, collecting far more footage than the final film requires. They may do this during interviews or in observationalstyle encounters with their subjects. To get increased access and an observational aesthetic, documentary makers often use handheld cameras and natural light, rather than staging a more formal filming environment.
Post-Production and the Documentary. Because a documentary film relies upon candid footage, a large part of the film’s construction occurs in the editing room, where you work with what you’ve captured. A documentary editor will sift through long interviews just to find a few phrases that will summarize the film’s message. To emphasize important points and build the story, some documentaries use a voiceover,
an interview or a scripted narrative that brings candid footage together into a coherent statement. An original score can work alongside the voiceover to unify the footage and shape the mood of the film. Audiences often underestimate the power of sound to generate an emotional response. Many documentaries also use charts, graphs and historical footage to add context and emphasize key points.
Distribution. Once a film is completed, the filmmaker needs to help it find its audience. Many documentaries are made independently on small budgets, but what’s the point of all your work if no one hears your message? Some documentaries will be released in theaters around the country or get programmed on public or cable TV channels, but most documentary filmmakers will start by submitting their work to film festivals, in hopes of attracting distributors for the theater and television markets. Filmmakers may also make their films available online and use social media to reach their target audience.
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supplemental RESOURCES Freedom Summer on PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/freedomsummer/
Research Materials Relating to Freedom Summer Eyes on the Prize, a series about the Civil Rights movement, Freedom Summer section: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ amex/eyesontheprize/story/09_summer.html CORE, Congress of Racial Equality info page on Freedom Summer: http://www.core-online.org/History/freedom_ summer.htm University of Southern Mississippi audio resource about Freedom Summer: http://www.usm.edu/crdp/html/cd/ summer.htm Civil Rights Digital Library: http://crdl.usg.edu/events/freedom_summer/?Welcome History.com Freedom Summer section: Civil Rights Digital Library: http://crdl.usg.edu/events/freedom_ summer/?Welcome Angela Davis: “Terrorism is Part of Our History”: http://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/16/terrorism_is_part_of_our_
News and Current Events Relating to Voting Rights: ACLU fact page on voting rights: https://www.aclu.org/voting-rights The Voting Rights Act on History.com: http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/voting-rights-act CivilRights.org: Voting Rights: http://www.civilrights.org/voting-rights/ New York Times article: Supreme Court Invalidates Key Part of Voting Rights Act: http://www.nytimes. com/2013/06/26/us/supreme-court-ruling.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 New York Times opinion: Between the Lines of the Voting Rights Act: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/06/25/ us/annotated-supreme-court-decision-on-voting-rights-act.html Rolling Stone: The GOP War on Voting Rights: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-gop-war-onvoting-20110830 Charles M. Blow: Lions to the Ballot Box: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/opinion/blow-lions-to-the-ballot-box. html?ref=charlesmblow
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revi e ws The Hollywood Reporter
Variety
1/21/2014 by Duane Byrge
A well-shaped and powerful reminder of a time in recent American history when white supremacy was decisively and courageously undercut.
PARK CITY, Utah -- “Crack Mississippi and you’ve cracked the South.” That was the strategy of more than 700 college students who descended on the segregationist state in 1964 to register black voters. Of the Southern states, Mississippi had both the highest percentage of blacks in the population, and, by far, the lowest percentage of black registered voters. If they could embolden black voters to register in the worst Southern state, they reasoned the other states would follow. It was a controversial and very risky undertaking. Almost immediately three participants turned up missing, later found murdered. Indeed, what most of the idealistic and naive college students did not grasp was the hairtrigger violence of Mississippi. It was a dangerous naivety that was not lost on the black Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee members who organized the movement within the state. In its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Freedom Summer enthralled and educated a packed house about the backwater and backroom perils of their dangerous quest. Mixing archival footage, news clips from the time and recent interviews with the participants, veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson has crafted a searing portrait of those violent, racist times. Intelligently composed and powerfully driven, Freedom Summer is a stirring historical document. It would seem an essential addition for any university library. Freedom Summer will be shown on PBS this June, where it will likely garner similar ecstatic reaction.
Rob Nelson Written and directed by veteran documentarian Stanley Nelson (“The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords”), “Freedom Summer” expertly combines archival footage and photos with contemporary interviews to recall the pivotal 10-week period in 1964 when hundreds of activists, black and white, worked together to register African-American voters in violently segregationist Mississippi. Airing on PBS in June to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the events, and certain to become a widely employed educational tool thereafter, Nelson’s film is a well-shaped and powerful reminder of a time in recent American history when white supremacy was decisively and courageously undercut. In its early reels, “Freedom Summer” carefully establishes early ’60s-era Mississippi as a racist stronghold, a state in which black people were secondclass citizens, expected to bow their heads to whites or step off sidewalks until they passed. Nelson and his interview subjects, including “Freedom Summer” author and historian Bruce Watson, make clear that this monstrous culture was enforced by terrorism in physical, political and economic forms. In a bloodcurdling comment, former White Citizens’ Council member William Scarborough says that the Ku Klux Klan wasn’t needed in Mississippi because his group’s legal efforts were so effective. At the same time, this council’s success unwittingly helped make Mississippi the focus of attention for large
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numbers of activist organizers and citizens, including more than 700 student volunteers, in the summer of 1964. One former member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee says that she and her fellow SNCC workers were “young and foolish” — a mixed blessing — with regard to their limited sense of the dangers involved. Three civil rights workers were brutally murdered, including Michael Schwerner, whose widow, Rita Schwerner Bender, is interviewed in the film. Nelson’s excellent archival material includes snippets of a phone conversation between J. Edgar Hoover and thenpresident Lyndon B. Johnson, the latter calling Schwerner Bender “very ugly” and “worse than a communist.” To say that LBJ doesn’t come off well in “Freedom Summer” would be an understatement; indeed, the film shows that the president contrived to keep the live testimony of charismatic Mississippi organizer Fannie Lou Hamer off the networks’ televised coverage of the Democratic National Convention. The docu concludes by noting that, a year later, Johnson was forced to sign the Voting Rights Act, which abolished literacy tests designed to disenfranchise black voters. Sharp editing by Aljernon Tunsil helps deliver the film’s story with maximum clarity while building tension in its final third. The late Pete Seeger, who performed for SNCC volunteers in 1964, makes one of his final screen appearances, as does civil rights chronicler Tracy Sugarman, who died last year.
