“The summer of ’64 was finally over, and the rest of the year was fairly quiet. All of the college students went back to their schools, and we really never knew whether they felt that had accomplished anything or not, but at least none of them stayed around to continue their work, and the SNCC group was left to carry on.

“The Mississippi Freedom Democratic party had been formed that year as an alternative to the Democratic Party in Mississippi, which was all white. They held a meeting in Jackson and selected their delegates and attended the National Convention attempting to unseat the regular delegation. A Negro, Fannie Lou Hamer SNCC, and had assisted the National Council of Churches in creating he Delta Ministry, which was also involved in much of the civil rights activity. She appeared on national television at the national Democratic convention and caused quite a commotion. Some of the politicians wanted to seat the Freedom Democrats instead of the regular Mississippi delegation, which included Hardy Lott. She then became a delegate with the Mississippi Loyalist Democratic Party, which was a successor of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and which unseated the regular delegation at the National Democratic Convention.”