freedom summer

My temporary home this summer is just a few steps away from Miami University's Freedom Summer memorial, pictured above. The memorial takes the form of an outdoor ampitheatre, an open-air performance space. Upwards of 1,000 volunteers--including large numbers of college students--took part in non-violence training here at what was then called Western College (a small women's liberal arts college that eventually merged with adjacent Miami U).



Then, they headed down south where they registered close to 2,000 African-Americans to vote. Two of the volunteers became martyrs when the KKK murdered them in attempt to dissuade voter registration. Here's to the memory of those martyrs. May our teaching honor the justice work they begun.