Mississippi+Freedom+Democratic+Party

At a monthly state convention in April of 1964, an organization emerged as the first to finally challenge the traditional Democratic Party. This party became known as the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and was the first fundamentally black political party in the country. It was founded on the most fundamental ideals of equality, especially surrounding education, concentrating on African American citizens who had been continually denied basic constitutional rights by the "original" Democratic Party. Their eyes were set high, and they had the passion to pull through as much radical change as possible - starting with their effort to outseat all other Democrats in the annual National Democratic Convention in Atlantic City. They were very quickly crossing the line between a meaningless organization of unrealistic hopes and a legitimate threat to the "white" democrats and the political parties of the nation itself. After instantaneously denying every request from the white house to "back down" or "wait for a better time," President Lyndon B Johnson ordered their strategic meetings to be infultrated and spied on by FBI agents and the president's closest aids. They broadcasted a nation-wide televised speech featuring representative delegate Fannie Lou Hamer focusing on the dangers and difficulties of voting in Mississippi especially as an African American. This national broadcast was interrupted, and Johnson had them cut the feed to broadcast an "emergency" speech of his own. Time after time the organization was disrespected by "compromises" consisting of at most two seats in the Democratic Convention given to the party but with no power to vote on any issues dicussed. The MFDP continued to remain steadfast and turned down the offer. They explained that this wasnt a matter of purely political ramification, but it was for the lives of the people back in Mississippi, which is why they wouldn't accept any compromise that didnt change that. The MFDP failed to gain representation at the convention because of their unchanging incentive. It was the last bang before the start of the decline of the civil rights movement, but would give much more validity to the Black Panther political party that was still yet to come.



[|Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party] [|The Global Freedom Struggle]