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Retracing 'Freedom Summer' In Mississippi

In the summer of 1964, more than 1,000 civil rights workers came to Mississippi to help register black voters. Buses of young people traveled highways and back roads at their own peril, to do the work of what was dubbed Freedom Summer.

Now, 40 years later, a busload of teachers is riding Mississippi's highways, retracing the steps of the Freedom workers in the hope of bringing that history to life for a new generation of students. NPR's Debbie Elliott rode with them.

The teachers' tour was part of a Mississippi workshop that's a joint project of Jackson State University, Rhodes College in Memphis, and the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

NPR National Correspondent Debbie Elliott can be heard telling stories from her native South. She covers the latest news and politics, and is attuned to the region's rich culture and history.