The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

Zwerling (Matthew) Freedom Summer Collection

Repository: University of Southern Mississippi. McCain Library and Archives

Collection Description (Extant): The Matthew Zwerling Freedom Summer Collection contains civil rights materials collected by Matthew Zwerling and his family from 1963 to 1965. The bulk of the material documents Matthew's activities as a Freedom Summer volunteer in Clarksdale, Mississippi during 1964.

Box one consists of three folders of personal materials: two folders of correspondence, and one folder of photographs. The correspondence folders contain Matthew's weekly letters to his parents, which were usually composed every Tuesday, and give brief details of Matthew's living conditions and his own interpretation of his work's progress. Also included are letters between Matthew's parents and government officials concerning the Goodman/Chaney/Schwerner murders and the overall safety of Freedom Summer volunteers. The folder of photographs includes what is believed to be the last photograph of Andrew Goodman, taken a few weeks prior to his death. The remainder of the folders in the box consist of flyers, pamphlets, articles, reports, and other materials that were collected by Matthew and his family during the Civil Rights Movement, including organizational materials from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP).

Box two contains two folders of materials. The first folder is comprised of periodicals with articles devoted to civil rights issues. One of the periodicals is dedicated to Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner and the investigation of their deaths. The second folder includes various newspaper articles that document the Civil Rights Movement from 1963 to 1965.

This collection should be of value to researchers of Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Movement in general.

Date(s): ca. 1963-1965

Digital Status: Partial

Existing IDs: M 336

Finding Aid URL: http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/archives/m336.htm

Language: English

Related Archival Items: Glass (Jinny) Freedom Summer Diary, M 257

Zeman (Zoya) Freedom Summer Collection, M 320

Ellin (Joseph and Nancy) Freedom Summer Collection, M 323

Rights (CRHP): Contact the repository which holds the collection for information on rights

Subjects:

Civil rights workers--Mississippi
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Mississippi Freedom Project
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.)

Genres:

Photographs