Most Osher members have lived in this period, so the words “Sit-in” and “Freedom Summer” are probably familiar. From our first meeting, I will encourage class participants to share their memories and stories of this period, and I will share my modest contribution in the Summer of 1965. We will cover the public demonstrations on the street, but also go behind the scenes to see how the planning for the various actions (or its lack!) played out, and how schedules were sometimes changed on the fly. Internal conflicts also played a role.

Remarkable individuals like Martin Luther King and Andrew Young stand out, but there are others, like Bob Moses and the husband and wife team of James Bevel and Diane Nash, who deserve a more detailed story about their leadership of Freedom Summer. The 1960s Movement was widely covered by the media, especially the non-Southern TV network news, bringing the movement into millions of living rooms. As a result, there are many clips of demonstrations and speeches available. In this course, you will see many of them, and even view Walter Cronkite, again, giving the news!