Wednesdays in Mississippi: A Jewish Social Justice Case Study
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Sharing Stories Inspiring Change WEDNESDAYS IN MISSISSIPPI
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Transcript of Wednesdays in Mississippi: A Jewish Social Justice Case Study
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
WEDNESDAYS IN MISSISSIPPI
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Who is this person?
What did this person do?
Why did they do it?
Who am I?
What do I do / What do I want to do?
Why do I do it?
You Cannot Be What You Cannot See
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
Sharing Stories, Inspiring Change
POWER COUPLESPower Couples showcases extraordinary Jewish women, matching an
early female trailblazer with a modern woman at the top of her game.
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
The American Civil Rights
Movement
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Racial segregation is both legal and
cultural
“Separate but equal” in Plessy vs. Ferguson
Supreme Court case
1896
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Racial integration in schools
Brown v. Board of Education
1954
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Integration of public services
Montgomery Bus Boycott
1955
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Nonviolent direct action drives change
Woolworths Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
1960
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Ending racism in interstate travel
Freedom Rides
1961
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Broad public and political support
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
1963
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Focus: Voting rights and political representation
Mississippi Freedom Summer Project
1964
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Federal enforcement of racial equality
Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts Passed
1964 & 1965
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The Holocaust
Jews felt like outsiders and
empathized with Southern
African Americans
Jewish values relating to
social justice
Escape/rebel against
upper/middle lass lifestyle
Jewish participation in the Civil Rights Movement
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Focus on Voting Rights and Political
Representation
Mississippi Freedom Summer Project
1964
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Addressing deeply-entrenched racism
Mississippi
The Deep South
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National Student
Organization
Coalition of Mississippi
Organizations
Mississippi Freedom Summer Project
Volunteer Profile
Jews made up an estimated half of all white
Freedom Summer volunteers; less than 1%
of the US population at that time
Northern volunteers were mostly white,
affluent; many college students. Southern
volunteers were mostly African American,
Christian, college students and working
class individuals from a diverse age range
Stopped for training in Oxford, OH before
heading to different communities in the
South
“My husband, Michael Schwerner, did not die in vain. If he
and Andrew Goodman had been Negroes, the world would
have taken little notice of their deaths. After all, the slaying
of a Negro in Mississippi is not news. It is only because my
husband and Andrew Goodman were white that the
national alarm has been sounded.”Rita Schwerner
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Letter from an Activist
Heather Booth, Ruleville
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Heather Booth, Freedom Summer
Volunteer
Heather Booth and Fannie Lou Hamer
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Another Perspective
• Polly Cowan was a mother of
two Freedom Summer
volunteers (Paul and Geoff)
• Volunteered with the National
Council of Negro Women
• Worked closely with the NCNW
Director, Dr. Dorothy Height
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Wednesdays In Mississippi (WIMS)
Sharing information with home community
Building bridges in Southern
communities
Social Change
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WIMS Inputs and Outcomes
Relationships
Leadership
Political and economic power
Rights for women and children
Educational and health access
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Dorothy Height Explains WIMS
• Why were women participating in Wednesdays
in Mississippi?
• What strategies were the organizers using to
make change?
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Team Structure
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National Council of
Negro Women (NCNW)
National Council of
Jewish Women (NCJW)
National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW)
Church Women United
Young Women’s Christian
Association (YWCA)
League of Women Voters
American Association of
University Women
Wednesdays in
Mississippi
Interfaith Collaboration by Women’s
Groups
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Collaborating across geographic lines
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Meet with local
hostess, gather
impressions
Visit Freedom
Summer Projects
Share knowledge
about Civil Rights
efforts with hostess
appeal to her (and
her network) to take
action
Review study kit
and suggested
reading (before
trip)
Travel to Jackson,
Mississippi
Meet-up with
WIMS staff and
community
members
How WIMS worked
Before the Trip During the Trip
Write up debrief
including names of
potential allies or
opponents (don’t
take notes in front of
the hostess!)
Reach out to home
community
After the Trip
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WIMS: An example of women’s changing
roles
Betty Friedan
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Southern Jews’ new “white” status
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Two Activists Share Their Stories
• Dr. Josie Johnson and Maxine Nathanson
• From Minnesota
• Went south to Mississippi in a team of four
• View the whole interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpmhb5AiDKI
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• How did these women make change in their communities and in
the Civil Rights Movement?
• What is the significance of women working together in this story?
• What, if anything, do you think was revolutionary and/or
dangerous about these women?
• What relevance does this story have to today?
• What aspects of the Wednesdays in Mississippi model of activism
seem most relevant today? What aspects seem less relevant?
What can we learn from WIMS?
Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change
WEDNESDAYS IN MISSISSIPPI
