Z 2293.000 Hexter (Christopher T.) Mississippi Freedom Summer Project Papers

Biography/History:

Christopher T. Hexter was born about 1944, possibly in St. Louis, Missouri, one of four children born to Dr. Jack H. and Ruth Mullin Hexter. Hexter became an active participant in civil rights activities as early as 1960, when he took part in a demonstration in front of the Scottish National Museum in Edinburgh on behalf of the African National Congress. He volunteered in the St. Louis, Missouri, community at the Catholic Worker Hospitality House and became an active member of the local chapter of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE). At age nineteen, Hexter participated in SNCC’s (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) Freedom Summer Project of 1964 as a teacher in the Freedom Schools in Indianola and Ruleville, Sunflower County, Mississippi.

The Project in Mississippi attracted volunteers nationwide to Mississippi. The umbrella organization, COFO (Council of Federated Organizations), coordinated all activities for the project, which focused on voter registration, education, and empowerment. The alternative schools were created to educate children and adults throughout the state. The schools’ curriculum was divided into three sections: academic, citizenship, and recreational. The emphasis was placed on African American history, the Civil Rights Movement, and race relations; basic subjects were also taught. By the end of the summer, fifty Freedom Schools were established and over 2,500 students were enrolled.

After the summer ended, Hexter continued to work with a SNCC support organization in Madison, Wisconsin. He also participated in the sit-in demonstrations in 1965 in support of the 1964 Voting Rights Act at the White House in Washington, D.C. The demonstrations occurred during the Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, March.

Christopher T. Hexter and his wife, Shellie C. Hexter, had four children: Kiena C. (b. January 25, 1969), Joshua S. (b. August 13, 1970), Anna A. (b. July 2, 1971), and Katherine M. (b. March 27, 1974). Christopher Hexter attended the University of Wisconsin and received his Juris Doctor from the law school in 1972. Hexter became a labor employment attorney in St. Louis. In 2001, he co-edited a book entitled The Developing Labor Law: The Board, the Courts, and the National Labor Relations Act. As of 2004, Christopher T. Hexter resided in University City, Missouri.

Scope/Content:

The Christopher T. Hexter Mississippi Freedom Summer Project Papers contain school materials, photographs, miscellaneous papers, and printed materials pertaining to the Freedom School Summer Project held throughout Mississippi during the summer of 1964. Of interest are the written declarations of various civil rights organizations and photographs of Freedom Summer activities.

Series Identification:

1. Series 1. Freedom Summer School Materials. ca. 1964. 5 folders.

   This series is composed of topical papers utilized in the Sunflower County, Mississippi, Freedom schools. The papers contain teaching materials created by COFO members and student work. Also included are declarations of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, the Delta Ministry, COFO, and other civil rights organizations.

   Box 2, folders 2-6.

2. Series 2. Photographs, 1964. 1 box, 1 folder.

   This series consists of annotated photographs taken by Hexter during the Freedom Summer of 1964. The photographs depict the children and teachers of the Freedom Schools in Sunflower County, Mississippi; voter registration attempts; and Civil Rights Movement leaders such as Fannie Lou Hamer and Charles McLaurin.

   Box 1 (restricted originals)
   Box 2, folder 1 (reference prints).

3. Series 3. Miscellaneous Freedom Summer Papers, 1964-1986; 2004: n.d. 3 folders.

   This series includes several miscellaneous papers belonging to Christopher T. Hexter: a legal petition, correspondence, poetry reprints, newsletters, memos, and a handwritten outline for a speech entitled “MS Talk.” The petition, Hexter v. City of Indianola, was an appeal for removal of a case from the Sunflower Circuit Court. Hexter and several CORE volunteers were arrested for distributing pamphlets without a permit in the streets of Indianola in 1964. The volunteers did not believe that it was possible to receive a fair trial in Sunflower County, so many petitioned for venue changes. Also included in this series is Hexter’s application essay to the SNCC Freedom Force entitled, “Why I Want to Work in Mississippi?” and a memorandum of suggested precautions that volunteers should undertake before their arrival in Mississippi.

   Box 2, folders 8-10.

4. Series 4. Printed Materials. 1964-1985; n.d. 1 folder.

   This series is comprised of various printed materials collected by Christopher T. Hexter. The materials include newsletters such as The Freedom Fighter, which was created by the students of Sunflower County Freedom Schools. Also included is a copy of a July 4, 1964, edition of the Mississippi Free Press, NAACP Legal Defense and SNCC Pamphlets, and a FreedomCrafts (sic) order form.

   Box 2, folder 7.

Box List:

Box 1: Photographs, 1964. (restricted originals)
Box 2, folder 1: Photographs, 1964. (reference prints)
Box 2, folder 2: Freedom Summer declarations, ca. 1964.
Box 2, folder 3: Freedom Summer declarations, ca. 1964.
Box 2, folder 4: Student papers, ca. 1964.
Box 2, folder 5: Teacher preparation papers, ca. 1964.
Box 2, folder 6: Freedom School curriculum, ca. 1964.
Box 2, folder 7: Printed Materials, 1964-1985; n.d.
Box 2, folder 8: Miscellaneous, n.d.
Box 2, folder 9: Miscellaneous, 1964-1986
Box 2, folder 10: Miscellaneous, 2004; n.d.