Freedom on My Mind
Freedom on My Mind is a 1994 feature documentary film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, won that years Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It is the first film to chronicle, in depth, the story of Freedom Summer. It was produced and directed by Connie Field and Marilyn Mulford.
In 1961, Mississippi was a virtual South African enclave within the United States. Everything was segregated. There were virtually no black voters. Bob Moses entered the state and the Mississippi Voter Registration Project began. The first black farmer who attempted to register was fatally shot by a Mississippi State Representative. But four years later, the registration was open. By 1990, Mississippi had more elected black officials than any other state in the country. As the New York Times said in their review of the film, a handful of young people, black and white, believed they could change history. And did.Freedom on My Mind dramatically interweaves powerful personal interviews, rare archival film and television footage, authentic Mississippi Delta blues, and vibrant Movement gospel songs that allows the viewer, in the words of The Washington Post Weekend, to vicariously experienceor reexperiencea time of courage and fear, empowerment and subjugation, interracial coalition and bitter division. It emphasizes the strategic brilliance of Mississippis young, black organizers. Barred from political participation, they created their own integrated party the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. They recruited a thousand mostly white students from around the country to come to Mississippi, bringing the eyes and conscience of the nation with them. The students and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party organizers put together a delegation of sharecroppers, maids, and daylaborers that challenged the allwhite delegates in the 1964 Democratic National Convention. They demanded equality and justice from the highest official in the land the President confronting the countrys leading politicians to live up to the democratic values they professed to hold. Freedom on My Mind provides a sweeping panorama of a turbulent time a time that tested Americas purpose and its commitment to democracy. The legacy of that time, the achievements and failures, remain with us today.
Source: Wikipedia