GET OUT THE VOTE TOOLKIT
A Toolkit to Educate, Inspire and Mobilize the Next Generation of Voters and Voting Rights Advocates
Featuring clips from the film, FREEDOM SUMMER. A Firelight Films Production for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Message from Firelight Media 2
Film Description 3
Description of the Clips (Courtesy of American Experience) 3
The Mississippi Freedom Summer Project – A Brief History 5
The Impact of Freedom Summer - By The Numbers (Courtesy of TheRoot.Com) 6
Do We Need Another Freedom Summer? 8
Voting Rights Then and Now 9
Making it Harder to Vote: Restrictive Voting Legislation in 2014 (Courtesy of the Advancement Project) 10
The Power of the Youth Vote 11
Eight Strategies for Unlocking the Youth Vote 11
Bibliography and Resource Organizations 13
About Firelight Media and Firelight Films 14
Funders, Acknowledgments, and Credits 14
A MESSAGE FROM FIRELIGHT MEDIA
Making the film FREEDOM SUMMER was a humble reminder of how precious the right to vote is -- and of our
shared obligation to defend that right and participate in the political system.
When we began production on this film, we knew the national broadcast of the film would coincide with the
50th anniversary of the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project in June 2014. We looked forward to the opportunity to honor those American heroes who made an enormous contribution to our democracy, and celebrate
the fruit of their efforts.
Then the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision came down from the Supreme Court - weakening the very
Voting Rights Act that was at the center of our story - and immediately we knew that this film was not just a
history lesson, it was a wake-up call.
Everywhere we look we are seeing roadblocks and rollbacks to voter protections put in place as a result of
Freedom Summer and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. And not just in Mississippi, but in states like Ohio, Texas,
Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin. Sadly, as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer,
we see communities across the country fighting to maintain the right to vote.
That is why we created this FREEDOM SUMMER Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) Toolkit. We believe the powerful
story of those brave young people can inspire the next generation of voters and voting rights advocates. This
free resource is designed specifically for organizations that recruit or train staff or volunteers for canvassing,
voter education and GOTV efforts in communities across the country.
The Toolkit features a DVD or flash drive with seven short clips from the two-hour film FREEDOM SUMMER,
and this companion booklet that provides background on Freedom Summer 1964, voter suppression then and
now, and contemporary strategies for reaching young voters.
You can use the film clips together or separately, in a range of settings; to educate staff on the historic
struggle for the right to vote, to train voter registration volunteers on traditional GOTV techniques, or to
motivate voting rights advocates.
We encourage you to watch history, then make your own!
FILM DESCRIPTION
Directed by Stanley Nelson (FREEDOM RIDERS, JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF
PEOPLES TEMPLE, THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL) and presented by the acclaimed
PBS series American Experience, FREEDOM SUMMER is a two-hour documentary film
that tells the story of the summer of 1964 when more than 700 student volunteers
joined with civil rights movement organizers and local blacks in a historic effort to
shatter the foundations of white supremacy in the nation’s most segregated state:
Mississippi. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was called
“cinematic lightening” by The Progressive Magazine. The film had a national
television broadcast on June 24, 2014 on the PBS series, American Experience.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CLIPS
The Freedom Summer GOTV Toolkit includes seven short clips
from the film.
CLIP 1 - VOTING RIGHTS IN 1964
CLIP 4 - CONFRONTING CHALLENGES IN THE FIELD
Total Running Time: 6 minutes 33 seconds
Includes scenes of interaction between local residents and the
Freedom Summer volunteers during registration drives, and the
resistance that they encountered while attempting to register
voters.
Total Running Time: 3 minutes 32 seconds
Provides a short summary of Freedom Summer 1964, the
intimidation and terrorism experienced by black Mississippians,
and the courage of the local organizers and volunteers who
participated in the campaign.
CLIP 5 - RECRUITING LOCAL LEADERS
Total Running Time: 3 minutes 13 seconds
Covers the recruitment of famed activist Fannie Lou Hamer into
the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project.
CLIP 2 - RECRUITING FREEDOM SUMMER VOLUNTEERS
Total Running Time: 5 minutes 43 seconds
Includes testimony from Freedom Summer volunteers on
what compelled them to risk their lives to register local
Mississippians.
CLIP 6 - MOTIVATING VOLUNTEERS
Total Running Time: 2 minutes 43 seconds
Takes viewers into the nightly mass meetings and highlights the
use of freedom songs to motivate voter registration volunteers.
CLIP 3 - RACIAL OPPRESSION AND VOTER SUPPRESSION
CLIP 7 - FROM VOTERS TO DELEGATES
Total Running Time: 5 minutes 9 seconds
Total Running Time: 4 minutes, 13 seconds
Includes archival footage of law enforcement and White
Citizens’ Councils’ efforts to suppress the voter registration
efforts throughout Mississippi.
Introduces the launch of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic
Party (MFDP) and the evolution of newly registered voters into
MFDP delegates.
THE MISSISSIPPI FREEDOM SUMMER PROJECT
A BRIEF HISTORY
In 1964, less than 7% of Mississippi’s African Americans were
registered to vote, compared to between 50 and 70% in other
southern states. In many rural counties, African Americans made
up the majority of the population and the segregationist white
establishment was prepared to use any means necessary to keep
them away from the polls and out of elected office. As Mississippian William Winter recalls, “A lot of white people thought
that African Americans in the South would literally take over and
white people would have to move, would have to get out of the
state.”
Undaunted, Freedom Summer volunteers went down to Mississippi, fanning out across the state, embedding themselves with
local families, and setting up Freedom Schools for children where
African American history and culture were taught -- subjects
forbidden in their regular public schools.
For years, local civil rights workers had tried unsuccessfully to
increase voter registration amongst African Americans. Those
who wished to vote had to face the local registrar, an all-powerful white functionary who would often publish their names in
the paper and pass the word on to their employers and bankers.
And if loss of jobs and the threat of violence wasn’t enough to
dissuade them, the complex and arcane testing policies were
certain to keep them off the rolls.
On August 4, 1964, the bodies of the three missing men were
finally found, buried beneath an earthen dam. But despite the
brutal murders, volunteers and locals were more committed to
their cause than ever; they focused their attention on signing
people up for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which
planned to challenge the all-white Mississippi delegation at the
upcoming Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City. Delegates included Fannie Lou Hamer, a former sharecropper who had
been beaten while trying to register to vote and who had emerged
as an authentic and passionate spokeswoman. At the convention,
Hamer’s speech moved the crowd but proved no match for the
Johnson machine, which feared the upheaval would threaten his
candidacy.
In 1964, a new plan was hatched by Bob Moses, a local secretary
for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). For
10 weeks, white students from the North would join activists
on the ground for a massive effort that would do what had been
impossible so far: force the media and the country to take notice
of the shocking violence and massive injustice taking place in
Mississippi.
As activist Charles McLaurin remarks in the film, “I felt really
bad that we had not unseated the Mississippi delegation. But
Fannie Lou and I came home with the feeling that our mission
had not ended. We were coming home to continue to fight for the
right to vote. We were charged because we had stuff back here to
do.” A year later, Congress finally passed the Voting Rights Act
of 1965.
Word of the coming influx spread and Mississippi officials geared
up for the newcomers by increasing police forces, passing new
ordinances, and purchasing riot gear and weapons. Meanwhile,
Mississippi Summer Project (later known as Freedom Summer)
students gathered on the campus of Western College for Women
in Oxford, Ohio to meet with SNCC leaders for training. After the
first week, the volunteers learned that three members of their
group -- Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney
-- had gone missing in Mississippi. As the days passed and the
young men were not heard from, people began to fear the worst
-- that they had been murdered by the Klan.
“Spending a summer in Mississippi
taught me a lot about this country.
My high school social studies teacher
taught me that we all have rights.
Mississippi summer taught me that
we didn’t all have rights.”
Karin Kunstler, Freedom Summer volunteer
DO WE NEED ANOTHER FREEDOM SUMMER?
Fifty years after the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project many contemporary
leaders have called for a second Freedom Summer. They point to the weakening of
the 1965 Voting Rights Act, an uptick in voter suppression efforts, and the historically low turnout of midterm elections as cause to revive the efforts of 1964.
Here is a sampling of voices that have sounded the call for
renewed spirit of civic engagement:
“In 1964, black would-be voters were turned away by intimidation and poll tests. Now, voter ID requirements and limited
voting hours will disproportionately turn away, or inconvenience,
low-income and minority voters. It is a more sophisticated and
insidious form of voter suppression…So we cannot let this new
movement — these cynical and sinister attempts to disenfranchise Americans — go. If it takes an act of “outside agitation,”
so be it. If it requires courage, we can summon it. If it means
replacing cynicism with optimism and apathy with action, we can
accomplish it ”
- David Goodman, brother of slain Freedom Summer volunteer
Andrew Goodman. (Source: 50 Years After the Murder of My
Brother, Andrew Goodman, Voter Rights Still Threatened)
“Today, 50 years on from that historic summer, we are facing
many of the same challenges in a host of states. After so many
marched, organized, petitioned, registered voters, and risked
their lives and livelihoods -- and some even died -- how do we
as a country allow their victories to be stripped away before our
very eyes? If there was ever a time to have a renewed Freedom
Summer, that time is now, in 2014.”
“Let [Bob] Moses’ genius be our guide: that the best and only
way to effect meaningful, long-lasting change is to train and
empower others to make their world anew. The traditional topdown model has a number of limits and has often been based on
a condescending attitude of so-called leaders toward so-called
followers. Change from the ground up is change that will last.
By using that approach, we will live up to Moses’ example and
that of the late Victoria Gray Adams, a founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, who believed in her heart that
“freedom summer never really ended.”
– Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Alphonse Fletcher University Professor
at Harvard University (Source: What Was Freedom Summer?)
“This year, on the 50th Anniversary of Freedom Summer, the
lessons of that historic protest drive home what’s at stake in
battles around the country to protect voting rights. This moment
is an opportunity to push back against voter suppression efforts,
to ensure that the sacrifices of those who bravely took part in
Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Movement continue to be
recognized by the legislation they fought for.”
– Yoruba Richen, director of The New Black, (Source: 50 Years
After the Freedom Summer, the Fight for the Vote Continues)
- Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network.
(Source: Why 2014 Should Be Another Freedom Summer)
“Freedom Summer should not be seen as a one-time event…
We are each accountable this year, not only to commemorate
Freedom Summer but also to re-create it.”
“Freedom Summer organizers risked their lives and transformed
our nation for the better. Today, we need to summon the courage
to ensure their efforts are not being rolled back. History has
taught us that we can be powerful agents of social change when
we organize, agitate, and – most importantly – vote. The summer
of 2014 will be an important test for the cause of freedom.”
- Rep. Stacey Abrams, (Source: When It Comes to Voting,
Freedom Summer Wasn’t a One-Time Event)
– Benjamin Todd Jealous, former president and CEO of the NAACP
(Source: Why we need a second Freedom Summer in 2014)
VOTING RIGHTS – THEN AND NOW
50 years after Freedom Summer, the battle for voting rights
rages on. The Shelby County vs. Holder decision in 2013 opened
up the door for many states to consider enacting new restrictions on voting. These new restrictions disproportionately affect
students, young African Americans, Latinos, women and elderly
voters.
HOW ARE VOTES SUPPRESSED?
WHAT IS AT STAKE?
Read a short history of the poll taxes.
The demographic groups most affected by voter restrictions and
voter suppression efforts have immense political leverage. When
encouraged to participate in the electoral process these groups
can do more than swing elections, they can advocate for policies
and laws that fundamentally shape our democracy.
Studies show that young people were a decisive force in the
election of President Barack Obama. And, in 2012, without
young people, Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania would
have flipped from Blue to Red. (Source: CIRCLE -The Center for
Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement)
According to an NAACP study on The Youth Vote in 2008:
Young African Americans posted the highest turnout rate ever
observed for any racial or ethnic group of young Americans since
1972. The gap in turnout by educational attainment remained
large; voter turnout of young people without college experience
was 36%, compared to a 62% rate among young people with
college experience. (About half of the young adult population has
some college experience.) There was also a significant gender
gap in turnout: young women voted at a rate eight points above
young men.
As 10 percent of the nation’s voting population, Latinos “have
provided the margin of victory in many key elections.” Latinos
represent a significant voting population in large states like
California and Texas, and new Latino voters – those turning 18
or becoming naturalized citizens – will be an important force in
states like Georgia and Virginia. (Source: Latinos and the VRA: A
Modern Fix for Modern Day Discrimination).
With so much potential power, these groups should be encouraged to participate in the political process. Restricting or
suppressing their vote has major implications on the laws and
lawmakers that govern our lives.
In 1964, voter suppression took on many forms:
Poll Taxes –Poll taxes served as a pre-condition for the right to
vote. They were enacted by states across the country, mainly
functioning as a way to limit the participation of newly freed
African Americans.
Literacy Tests – Tests enacted in the late 1800s that served as
a pre-condition for the right to vote. The tests were created and
administered by local city officials and covered a range of topics,
from U.S. history to random trivia. The tests were part of a tactic
to deny the right to vote to African Americans.
Would you pass a literacy test given to Louisiana voters in 1960?
Intimidation and Violence – Though not legally sanctioned, many
local officials and business leaders in states across the country
employed a range of tactics to intimidate or physically prevent
potential voters from registering or voting. These tactics included
church bombings and cross burnings, threats to employment,
denials of loans, and even murder.
In 2014, voter suppression is less overt, but it can have the same
chilling effect. Look at the graphic on the next page for examples
of voter suppression efforts today, courtesy of The Advancement
Project.
WHAT IS BEHIND THE EFFORT TO RESTRICT VOTERS?
The current rollbacks to voting rights are often created with the
stated intent of protecting against voter fraud. Yet studies show
the incidents of actual voter fraud are greatly exaggerated, and
the harm of the restrictions does not outweigh the threat of
possible voter fraud.
It is more likely that an individual will be struck by lightning than
that he will impersonate another voter at the polls. (Source:
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law)
MAKING IT HARDER TO VOTE
RESTRICTIVE VOTING LEGISLATION IN 2014
.....................................................................................................
Proposed Legislation
Passed Legislation
B
VOTER SUPPRESSION TACTICS
..............................................
CUTS TO EARLY VOTING
PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS
VOTER & PHOTO ID
PURGES
MAKING VOTER REGISTRATION HARDER
ELIMINATING SAME DAY REGISTRATION
These laws attempt to reduce early voting periods, which
are utilized by African Americans at higher rates than
White voters. Aside from slashing the number of days for
early voting and eliminating early voting during
weekends and evening hours, these laws also cut voting
on the Sunday before Election Day (“Souls to the Polls”).
Passed/Proposed in 2014: GA, MO, OH, WI
These restrictive laws would require citizens to present
a specific form of ID just to vote. Eleven percent of
American citizens don’t have a qualifying photo ID,
including 25% of African Americans, 20% of people
aged 18 to 29, and 18% of seniors.
Passed/Proposed in 2014: AL, CO, IL, IA, KY, MD, MA, MO,
NH, NY, NE, OH, OK, WA, WI, WV
These laws would burden third-party registration groups,
imposing stricter requirements and posing financial
penalties for failure to comply. Many voter registration
groups have shut down operations under these restrictions. African-American and Latino voters register
through drives at nearly twice the rate of White voters.
Passed/Proposed in 2014: AL, AZ, CO, IA, MO, NJ, NE, OH,
OK, VT, WI
These laws would require expensive documentary
proof of citizenship to register to vote. This was
previously unheard of because federal law already
provides protections against noncitizens registering to
vote - including prison, fines, and deportation.
Passed/Proposed in 2014: UT
These restrictive laws would purge registered voters
from their voter rolls based on flawed suspicion of their
citizenship status. These laws use faulty databases and
improperly target naturalized citizens, the majority of
whom are voters of color.
Passed/Proposed in 2014: VA
By taking away the convenience and choice of registering
at the polls, eliminating SDR prevents more people from
voting, especially low-income voters who move more
frequently. For citizens who are wrongly kicked off the
voter rolls, eliminating registration at the polls may
prevent them from casting a ballot that counts.
Passed/Proposed in 2014: NE
*Current as of June 20, 2014
@adv_project
/AdvancementProject
HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?
VISIT US ONLINE:
www.advancementproject.org
THE POWER OF THE YOUTH VOTE
In 1964, over a thousand college students, mostly white students from northern colleges, joined organizers from four civil rights organizations – SNCC, CORE, NAACP
and the SCLC – for the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project. While many veteran
civil rights organizers had a hand in crafting the plan, it was largely designed and
implemented by young people. Bob Moses, Julian Bond, James Chaney, Andrew
Goodman and Michael and Rita Schwerner were all under 30 years of age in 1964.
In many ways, Freedom Summer represents the power of young people to take bold
action, mobilize citizens, and ultimately change the course of history.
Freedom Summer 1964 was about more than just securing the right to vote, but
it was clear that, as Bob Moses said, “the key to unlocking Mississippi revolved
around the vote.”
Today young people continue to represent a powerful force in American politics.
This generation’s young are diverse ethnically and ideologically, and they will soon
represent one third of all eligible voters.
Yet that power remains underdeveloped. While their numbers have increased since
the 2004 election, too many young people fail to leverage their power.
So how do we get young people engaged? There are a host of strategies – from
grassroots organizing to modernizing the voting process – that can activate the
youth vote.
EIGHT STRATEGIES FOR UNLOCKING THE YOUTH VOTE
1
5
2
6
GO ONLINE – Young folks conduct many aspects of their
lives - social, academic and financial – online. Whether en
gaging young people on social media platforms or allowing
young adults to register online, the key is to meet young people
where they are and provide opportunities to get educated, get involved
and get registered.
EMPLOY YOUTH TO REACH YOUTH – There is little match
for the energy and enthusiasm of a young volunteer or
staffer. If the goal is to reach a young demographic, it is
critical to empower youth at all levels of the organization
– from strategy and messaging, to canvassing, recruiting and poll
monitoring. Young people understand their peers and can devise fresh
and innovative tactics to inspire and motivate the youth vote.
3
SEEK OUT AUTHENTIC LEADERS – Freedom Summer
taught us that identifying authentic leaders like
Fannie Lou Hamer could have a ripple effect far beyond a
single campaign. Mrs. Hamer became more than a powerful
GOTV volunteer, she became a beacon of hope and an inspiration for
the thousands of sharecroppers and women who she represented
throughout the south. Finding promising young people and providing
them with skill building and leadership opportunities can certainly be
the catalyst for a career in public service, but it may have an even
more powerful effect on the many young people they represent who may
not have considered entering the political arena. It is equally important
to look at the target population and identify leaders within that group;
so finding young leaders that represent the same linguistic, ethnic,
religious, economic and sexual orientation is critical.
4
ENTHUSIASM, LOCATION, TABLING, TRAINING AND
CLASS RAPS – The folks behind the National Voter
Registration Day have created excellent tools for any
group leading a voter registration effort on a college campus,
though this is useful for any place where young folks gather. They’ve
whittled down their best practices to five tips:
1) Use humor and positive energy to engage reluctant students and
motivate them to get registered, 2) Do your research to consider the
best location to reach students, paying special attention to places
where disenfranchised populations might congregate, 3) When tabling,
keep the energy high, stay accessible and approach students in an
informal, engaging manner. People want to feel positive about voting,
rather than guilty about not voting, 4) Train your volunteers so that
they can respond to a range of technical questions about the voting
process, and 5) Build relationships with professors in order to present
“class raps” or voter registration pitches to an entire class. (Source:
The What, Why, and How of Campus Voter Registration. National Voter
Registration Day).
DISPEL THE MYTHS – Young people may be more
susceptible to myths that surround voting. Common myths
include: will registering increase likelihood of getting
jury duty, will providing a college address affect financial aid,
does the electoral college cancel out individual votes, etc. It is important to understand those misconceptions and be prepared to dispel or
respond to them.
ADDRESS THE UNIQUE BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION College students are a critical source of potential youth
voters, yet the transient nature of their lives presents
unique challenges to voting. For many college students, the
basic requirements of voting - proving residency in a state, maintaining
a consistent home address, and possessing a valid state ID – discourage students from even attempting to register. While some states are
considering ways to eliminate these barriers, many more states maintain requirements that make voting difficult to impossible for college
students. (Source: NAACP Youth & College Division, This Is My Vote).
Further, 1 of every 13 African Americans is unable to vote because of
laws that prohibit those with felony convictions from voting. This has
a ripple affect in the African American community, as generations
of black men and women are shut out of the political process, some
before they’ve even had a chance to cast their first ballot. Any GOTV
strategy must consider ways to engage the populations that are shut
out of the political process.
7
BE LIKE BOB – There are countless attempts to
understand and reach the millennial generation, often
motivated by political or economic gain. Despite the
market research and studies, this generation of young people is
hard to pin down. One cannot assume, for example, that a second generation Vietnamese college student will share her immigrant parents’
beliefs. She may in fact have more in common culturally and politically
with her African American roommate. Freedom Summer organizer Bob
Moses demonstrated that to be an effective advocate one must be,
“open and accustomed to listening.” Basic organizing strategy reminds
us to check our assumptions, humble ourselves, and listen to the
needs, concerns and aspirations of young people in order to engage
them politically.
8
VOTING IS LIKE STRETCHING – Color of Change director
Rashad Robinson says, “Voting is like stretching. If you
don’t do it before exercising you’ll be sore tomorrow, but
stretching alone won’t make you lose that ten pounds.” The
right to vote is the bedrock of our society and it is all of our duty to
protect it by exercising it. However, an engaged citizenry does more
than simply vote every four years. The key to unlocking the youth vote
is helping young people see themselves as agents of change in their
lives, communities and country. Voting is the critical first step to
engagement, but hopefully not the last.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCE LIST
American Experience film website – Features a timeline of
Freedom Summer, biography on Fannie Lou Hamer, photo gallery,
teacher resources and film transcript
RESOURCE ORGANIZATIONS AND
VOTING RIGHTS INITIATIVES
Advancement Project
Freedom Summer campaign for African American voting rights
in Mississippi, 1964: Article from the Global Nonviolent Action
Database
Algebra Project
True South: Unleashing Democracy in the Black Belt 50 Years
After Freedom Summer – A Report from the Center for American
Promise and the Southern Elections Foundation
Brennan Center for Justice
Latinos and the VRA: A Modern Fix for Modern Day Discrimination
- A Joint Report of Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed
Officials National Hispanic Leadership Agenda
Dream Defenders
Your Voice Matters, Your Vote Matters: Register Now – A short
video aimed at young adults from the Brennan Center for Justice
Fifty Years After Freedom Summer The Voting Rights Act is Needed Now More Than Ever – Ari Berman, The Nation Magazine
Bend the Arc – A Jewish Partnership for Justice
Bus Federation Civic Fund
Freedom Side
Free To Vote
League of Women Voters
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
National Coalition for Black Civic Participation
“I have just returned from a spring
project on a voter registration drive
in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I was
filled with an overwhelming desire to
clean the rot out of America. All I can
say is that its very important to me
that I play my role in Civil Rights for
the U.S. and most of all for myself.”
Linda Wetmore, Freedom Summer volunteer
National Voter Registration Day 2014
Ohio Student Association
Rock the Vote
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
SNCC Legacy Project
The Young People’s Project
United We Dream
Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement
Voto Latino
VRA for Today
Working Films
18MillionRising
ABOUT FIRELIGHT FILMS AND FIRELIGHT MEDIA
SPECIAL THANK YOU
Firelight Films is a production company dedicated to producing
high quality and compelling social-issue films led by veteran
filmmaker Stanley Nelson.
Geri Mannion – Carnegie Corporation of New York
Firelight Media is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing talented documentary filmmakers who tell stories about
people, places, cultures and issues that are underrepresented in
the mainstream media.
Firelight Media’s Community Engagement Division creates strategic impact campaigns for social issue documentary films. Past
campaigns include Freedom Riders and Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats
and Rhymes, both of which are often cited as setting a high
standard for film-based impact campaigns.
Visit us at http://firelightmedia.tv/
Henry Der – Public Interest Projects
Chika Offurum, Vanessa Ezersky - American Experience
Cynthia Gordy - Advancement Project
Matt Singer - Bus Federation
Chrissy Faessen, Ashley Spillane – Rock the Vote
CREDITS
Freedom Summer GOTV Toolkit Producer
Sonya Childress, Firelight Media
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firelightmedia
Graphic Design
Instrumental
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/firelightmedia/ then
tweet about the film at #FreedomSummerFilm
Video Editor
Vanessa Ruiz, American Experience
For more information about the film, free resources or partnerships, please contact [email protected].
Spanish Translation
Valle Translations - ATA & CA Certified
The FREEDOM SUMMER GOTV Toolkit is produced by Firelight
Media with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Additional support for the Freedom Summer Community
Engagement Campaign provided by:
Wallace H. Coulter Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
The Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund