While Mississippi drew national headlines, CORE volunteers in Plaquemines Parish and beyond fought literacy tests, segregation and intimidation—laying groundwork for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. | (Black History Series) In the summer of 1964, as national attention fixed on Mississippi, a parallel struggle unfolded across Louisiana’s parishes—one that would test federal resolve, expose systemic voter suppression, and help reshape American democracy.
Known as the Louisiana Freedom Summer, or CORE’s Louisiana Project, the campaign was organized by the Congress of Racial Equality and brought volunteers from across the United States to challenge entrenched racial discrimination in voting and public accommodations.
