Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP)
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) was established on April 24, 1964, in Jackson, Mississippi, by African Americans seeking to create an alternative to the state's segregationist Democratic Party. Led by figures such as Lawrence Guyot and supported by legal counsel Arthur Kinoy, the MFDP focused on increasing voter registration among poor Mississippians of all races. During the summer and fall of 1964, the party successfully collected over sixty thousand voter registrations through "freedom registrars" and held its own state convention after being excluded from the official Democratic state convention.
The MFDP made a significant impact at the 1964 Democratic National Convention by challenging the seating of Mississippi's official delegation, bringing national attention to the state's discriminatory voter registration practices. Although their challenge was ultimately unsuccessful, it raised public awareness and catalyzed changes in Mississippi's voter registration system. The MFDP's efforts contributed to the eventual increase in racial diversity among elected officials in the state, culminating in a racially integrated Mississippi delegation at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. By the late 1970s, Mississippi boasted the highest number of registered African American voters in the nation. The MFDP later merged into a broader coalition known as the Mississippi Loyal Democrats.
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP)
An alternative political party. Its aim was to enable African Americans to participate fully in the Mississippi state political process.
Origins and History
Mississippi’s 1890 constitution had disenfranchised its African American citizens, allowing only a tiny percent to register to vote. Potential voters were prevented from exercising their rights through intimidation and taxes at the polls and registration laws requiring applicants to read and copy any section of the state constitution on request, give a “reasonable” interpretation of the section, and demonstrate a “reasonable” understanding of the duties and obligations of citizenship under a constitutional form of government. Illiterate whites often passed by just “signing the book,” however, blacks were often told they had failed but were not permitted to see test results. In the mid-1950’s, an effort to restrict registration even further by adding a “good moral character” requirement was initiated in response to the U.S. Supreme Court school desegregation ruling; this amendment was successful in 1962.
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) was founded April 24, 1964, in Jackson, Mississippi, by African Americans as an alternative to a segregationist state Democratic Party. Profoundly grassroots in both promise and practice, the MFDP was chaired by Lawrence Guyot with vice chair Ed King; its legal council was attorney Arthur Kinoy. It pledged loyalty to the National Democratic Party and sought its base among poor Mississippians of all races.
Activities
In the summer and fall of 1964, MFDP “freedom registrars,” building on a fall, 1963, voter registration campaign, collected more than sixty thousand registrations on simplified unofficial forms. The MFDP and others also worked under the umbrella of the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) to help people register on official rolls. Prevented from participating in the regular Democratic state convention, the MFDP held its own state convention on July 26, 1964, and elected delegates and alternates to the Democratic National Convention. The MFDP also nominated the first African American candidates to run for Congress since Reconstruction: Fannie Lou Hamer, Second District; Annie Devine, Fourth District; and Victoria Gray, Fifth District.
At the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City in August, the MFDP challenged seating of the official delegation from Mississippi. Televised coverage of the MFDP’s activities at the Democratic National Convention favorably affected public perception of the justice of the group’s challenge. However, its challenge was rejected by the party’s credentials committee. In turn, the MFDP rejected a proposed compromise, linked to Hubert Humphrey, that promised that the Democratic Party would seat a racially balanced Mississippi delegation in 1968.
In January, 1965, the MFDP challenged the seating of Mississippi’s newly elected congressional delegation. Depositions about voting irregularities collected in support of that challenge during the following months further publicly disgraced the state’s segregationist political leadership although the MFDP’s congressional challenge finally died in a House vote on September 17, 1965.
Impact
The MFDP failed to unseat the official delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention but was effective in local consciousness raising and in increasing national disaffection with Mississippi’s segregationist voter registration practices. In April, 1965, a federal court injunction ordered Sunflower County’s registrar to operate on a nondiscriminatory basis. In August, 1965, Mississippi reformed its voter registration application process. Mississippians of all races began to register with increasing success, and racial diversity increased among elected officials. In 1968, a racially integrated Mississippi delegation was seated, as promised, at the Democratic National Convention. The MFDP was absorbed into a liberal coalition known as the Mississippi Loyal Democrats in 1968. By the late 1970’s, there were more African Americans registered in Mississippi than in any other state.
Additional Information
More information on the party can be found in the U.S. Government publication “Restrictions on Negro Voting in Mississippi History: Appendix to Brief of ACLU, Amicus Curiae,” Publication No. 73 of the Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 1964.