Bay Area

‘Freedom Movement – a Musical’ Depicts The Mississippi ‘Freedom Summer’ of 1964

Published

6 years ago

March 19, 2020

In 1964, “Freedom Summer” or the Mississippi Summer Project, was a voter registration drive aimed to increase the number of Black voters in Mississippi.

On Feb. 8th, “Freedom Movement – A Musical”, was performed at the Cornerstone Community Church in Marin City as a fundraiser for the Hannah Freedom School. It brought the audience back to 1964 when racism in the South was intense, and the civil rights movement was active in Mississippi.

Bettie Hodges Shelmire, Executive Director of the Hannah Freedom School, says that the school’s genesis came from the Civil Rights Movement in the Mississippi Summer of 1964.

Racial violence against Blacks was intense, as Blacks were not only lynched but many Black churches and homes in Birmingham, Alabama, were bombed, including the 16th Street Baptist Church on Sept. 15, 1963, where four girls were killed and several other people were injured.

Only 6.7 percent of eligible blacks were registered to vote in Mississippi in 1964. In response, Congress began to pass important new civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Shelmire says that less than 5% of Black people in the South voted, even though they were given the right to vote by the 15th amendment.

Approximately 800 mostly white volunteers, originating from the then Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, joined the African Americans in Mississippi to fight against voter intimidation and discrimination at the polls. The Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organized the movement.

The volunteers started Freedom Schools to counter “sharecropper education” received by the Black people and poor whites, who through reading, writing and arithmetic, history and civics, could learn to participate in the voting process.

Freedom Schools were eventually adopted by Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president emerita of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). According to childrendefense.org, Edelman advocated for disadvantaged Americans her entire professional life. Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation’s strongest voice for children and families. The CDF’s Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a healthy start, a head start, a fair start, a safe start, and a moral start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.

There are 185 CDF Freedom Schools, which include the Hannah Freedom School in Marin City.

The office address for the Hannah Freedom School is 825 Drake Avenue, Marin City, CA 94965. Their mailing address is 3001 Bridgeway, #422, Sausalito, CA 94965. For more information, please call (415) 887-9740.

Godfrey Lee

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Oakland Post: Week of July 22 – 28, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 22 – 28, 2026

Published

17 hours ago

July 27, 2026

Oakland Post

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Agricultural Engineer Effie Gant Plans Bay Area Farmers Market Initiative

Published

1 week ago

July 18, 2026

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Agricultural Engineer Effie Gant displays watermelons from her Sacramento farm at the Temescal Festival in Oakland. Photo by Carla Thomas.

In her 80s and still actively working as an agricultural engineer, Effie Gant continues to break barriers in urban farming and community leadership.

The certified USDA grower and respected urban farmer, based in South Sacramento, was recently spotted vending at the Freedom Farmers’ Market by the Temescal Street Fair on Saturday, July 11, where she proudly displayed dozens of sweet, juicy watermelons.

Festivalgoers gathered not only to purchase her produce but also to enjoy activities like the popular watermelon-eating contest. Yet beyond the festive atmosphere, Gant has a larger vision.

Gant is now setting her sights on the Bay Area, where she plans to launch a farmers’ market to increase access to fresh, locally grown food.

Known for her leadership in sustainable agriculture and food justice, she brings decades of hands-on experience and community advocacy to regions where food access remains inconsistent.

She has built a strong reputation through her work with Meadowview Urban Farm and the Yisrael Family Urban Farm, cultivating crops such as watermelons, honeydew melons, and collard greens. Her approach emphasizes sustainability, education, and empowering residents to grow their own food, even in small urban spaces.

As a USDA-certified grower, Gant blends technical expertise with grassroots engagement to combat food insecurity.

Beyond farming, Gant serves as CEO and President of Highways to Hedges, a nonprofit focused on environmental justice and community development. She is also president of the Hampton Station Neighborhood Association and board chairman for HHCORE, where she advocates for safety, equity, and economic opportunity.

Her proposed farmers market will connect small-scale farmers with urban communities while elevating Black farmers and other underrepresented growers.

“I want to teach the next generation about farming and how lucrative it can be,” Gant said. “You don’t need hundreds of acres. You can start with one acre or even your backyard.”Gant also noted her involvement in a collective of farmers who supply produce through government-supported programs.

“We operate as a team, and we all benefit,” she said.

Through workshops, speaking engagements, and hands-on training, Gant and her organization continue to educate communities about agriculture and food justice. Her market initiative will emphasize affordability, cultural relevance, and nutrition education.

Her broader work includes creating edible forests in partnership with Soil Born Farms, planting fruit trees directly in neighborhoods to expand food access. As a mentor with the Center of Expertise on Food Justice and Health Equity, Gant remains a leading voice in building sustainable and resilient food systems.

Gant says she welcomes the community to join her in creating a new farmer’s market.

“Farming is essential to life,” she said. “I want to train as many people as I can to use food and farming as a tool for empowerment, health, and long-term change.”