DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Ed Spannaus correspondence, June-September 1964 | 1964-08-12 Ed Spannaus to his parents Page 3

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Ed Spannaus correspondence, June-September 1964

1964-08-12 Ed Spannaus to his parents Page 3

on the basic local level is the basis of the Freedom Democratic Party. The block captains will hold block meetings, hold workshops on voter registration, and so forth. There are some great people working on this level, and all in all it is a very exiting program. The main thing is that the program be set up so that it will function autonomously when the COPO workers leave. 

The organization of the Freedom Democratic Party is doubtless the closest thing to democracy in this country. As you know, the structure is parallel to that of the regular Party, from precincts to the state convention, which was held last Thursday. The difference is, of course, that the Freedom Democratic Party is the party of the people. I was speaking with (in fact, ate lunch at the house of) one of our Jackson county delegates to Atlantic City yesterday. He is really a great guy, also president of the Negro union at the paper mill. I really hope that people like him get a chance to tell their story at the convention. 

The Freedom Schools are quite successful, considering that this a brand new thing. One of the fellows who touches the school here is Pascagoula uses folk songs in his lessons; he sings a song, then the kids discuss the song, generally on a political level. Now many of the kids don't want to go back to regular school in the fall!

The Freedom Schools had a convention in Meridian last weekend; they drew up a political platform which is really quite document-- dealing with things that I'm sure are seldom if ever publicly discussed in Mississippi. They also organized a Young (Freedom) Democrats organization which will probably be chartered by the Nation Young Dem's.

The people here are really taking good care of us. All the [COPO?} workers are living in homes of local people; in Moss Point the family I was with has 11 kids and has housed 5 [COPO?] workers at one time; the family I'm with now has 6 children, ages 5 to 14. We get a lot of meals from people, and some restaurant feed us free too. So we're not doing too badly. 

We have a real good staff here; there are about ten northern volunteers plus a number of Mississippi Negro kids. The project director has been in the movement since 1961 in McComb. The guy who also stays with me here is a graduate student at Harvard from Australia. They are all just clean-out, typical kids, except much brighter than the average. 

This should be enough for now, Oh, it is essential that maximum public support be given the the Freedom Democratic delegation at Atlantic City; chairman of the credentials committee is: David Lawrence, 216 Executive Office Bldg., Washington D.C.

My best to everyone. 

Freedom!

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on the basic local level is the basis of the Freedom Democratic Party. The block captains will hold block meetings, hold workshops on voter registration, and so forth. There are some great people working on this level, and all in all it is a very exiting program. The main thing is that the program be set up so that it will function autonomously when the COPO workers leave. The organization of the Freedom Democratic Party is doubtless the closest thing to democracy in this country. As you know, the structure is parallel to that of the regular Party, from precincts to the state convention, which was held last Thursday. The difference is, of course, that the Freedom Democratic Party is the party of the people. I was speaking with (in fact, ate lunch at the house of) one of our Jackson county delegates to Atlantic City yesterday. He is really a great guy, also president of the Negro union at the paper mill. I really hope that people like him get a chance to tell their story at the convention. The Freedom Schools are quite successful, considering that this a brand new thing. One of the fellows who touches the school here is Pascagoula uses folk songs in his lessons; he sings a song, then the kids discuss the song, generally on a political level. Now many of the kids don't want to go back to regular school in the fall! The Freedom Schools had a convention in Meridian last weekend; they drew up a political platform which is really quite document-- dealing with things that I'm sure are seldom if ever publicly discussed in Mississippi. They also organized a Young (Freedom) Democrats organization which will probably be chartered by the Nation Young Dem's. The people here are really taking good care of us. All the [COPO?} workers are living in homes of local people; in Moss Point the family I was with has 11 kids and has housed 5 [COPO?] workers at one time; the family I'm with now has 6 children, ages 5 to 14. We get a lot of meals from people, and some restaurant feed us free too. So we're not doing too badly. We have a real good staff here; there are about ten northern volunteers plus a number of Mississippi Negro kids. The project director has been in the movement since 1961 in McComb. The guy who also stays with me here is a graduate student at Harvard from Australia. They are all just clean-out, typical kids, except much brighter than the average. This should be enough for now, Oh, it is essential that maximum public support be given the the Freedom Democratic delegation at Atlantic City; chairman of the credentials committee is: David Lawrence, 216 Executive Office Bldg., Washington D.C. My best to everyone. Freedom!