New Jersey

 

 

Democratic National Convention
August 1964

During Freedom Summer, many of the volunteers traveled from Mississippi in August of 1964 to Atlantic City, New Jersey to protest at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). They sought the equality the current two party system was denying people of color. This led to the formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. 1 Sitting through rain and shine, these youths sat outside the convention with signs and the charred vehicle of the three highly publicized murdered civil rights activists. 2 There are two significant factors of this event: the determination of the young black volunteers to attempt to negotiate some political agency for their community and the fact that they were ignored by the media during this significant point in politics.3


Image Credit in Order of Appearance
Herron, Matt. "Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Protests at the Democratic National Convention." Digital image. PBS: American Experience. August 1964. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedomsummer-project/.
Dahl, Kathleen. "Campaign button "One Man One Vote: FDP"." Digital Image. University of Southern Mississippi. 1964. http://crdl.usg.edu/cgi/crdl?query=id:usm_crmda_kd125.
Zwerling, Matthew. "Freedom Vote Ballot." Digital Image. University of Southern Mississippi. 1964. http://crdl.usg.edu/cgi/crdl?query=id:usm_crmda_mz044
Freeman, Jo. "FDP Brings Car of Murdered Freedom Summer Activists to DNC." Digital Image. The Civil Rights Vigil at the 1964 Democratic Convention. August 1964. http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/mfdp64.html.

   Videos

The following videos will provide you with the voices of those involved in events of the Civil Rights Movement in New Jersey.

 

This short video by the History Channel discusses the 1964 DNC, but what is most significant about this was not what was said by Robert Kennedy, riding the political wave of his brother's assassination, or the contention between Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. No, it's actually in the complete lack of acknowledgment of the Civil Rights Movement and the protestors outside of the convention. 

Featured Image Credit
Herron, Matt. "Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Protests at the Democratic National Convention." Digital image. PBS: American Experience. August 1964. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedomsummer-project/.
  1. Mastrovita, Mandy. "The 1964 Democratic National Convention and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party." Digital Library of Georgia. September 3, 2012. http://blog.dlg.galileo.usg.edu/?p=3793.
  2. Freeman, Jo. "The Civil Rights Vigil at the 1964 Democratic Convention." Jo Freeman. Accessed April 14, 2017. http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/mfdp64.html.
  3. 1964 Democratic National Convention. Performed by Robert Kennedy. The History Channel. Accessed April 14, 2017. https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/lyndon-b-johnson/videos/rfk-in-atlantic-city.

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