College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) at UF will host a public program in-person at Pugh Hall and virtually via Facebook Live titled “Mississippi Freedom Project Panel.”

The Mississippi Freedom Project (MFP) is an experiential learning initiative where students interview civil rights movement veterans in the Mississippi and Arkansas Delta regions. For 13 years, UF students have documented the efforts of teachers, museum professionals, high school students and others to apply the lessons of the freedom movement today. Our field researchers conducted interviews with African American elders and community members from the Florida Panhandle, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama this summer. SPOHP researchers had the opportunity to visit Elaine, Arkansas and uncover details about the disenfranchisement and mass killing of Black sharecroppers in the 1919 Elaine Massacre. In Glendora, Mississippi, the team traveled to the Emmett Till Historic Center and toured the grounds where fourteen-year-old Emmett Till once walked and where his fate was sealed at the hands of white supremacist agitators. SPOHP fieldworkers attended the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and toured the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama to conclude the trip.

Join us and listen to the stories collected and reflections from our field researchers. The panel session will be followed by a Q&A session and information on applying for next year’s fieldwork trip!