The beginning of freedom summer in Mississippi marked the start of a battle that would see much violence and controversy in the south. Students from the North came down to the south on their own free will to try to change the views of traditional southerners as well as educate and help African Americans. Many of these small towns in the south were not used to people coming in and trying to change the way they had lived so long and naturally they met these activist with violence and hatred. These early activists were treated just like the blacks meaning they were beaten and treated in the worst ways.
In the beginning Mickey Schwerner and his wife moved down to Meridian Mississippi to prepare for the freedom summer. Being Jewish they were not liked from the beginning. Schwerner and James Chaney a local African American formed an early friendship and used each other to spread the word of these new changing times. After raising African American awareness and stirring up the black community Schwerner was targeted by the Klu Klux Klan.
The last time Mickey Schwerner, James Chaney, and new recruit Andrew Goodman would be seen would be in jail before their bodies were found in a walled up damn. These three men were martyrs to their cause and because of them Mississippi would see drastic changes.
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