Mississippi Democratic Party
The Mississippi Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Mississippi. The party headquarters is located in Jackson, Mississippi.
Aaron Henry reading from a document while seated before the Credentials Committee
The party's Jefferson-Jackson-Hamer Dinner, 2013
Image: Bennie Thompson official photo (cropped)
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), also referred to simply as the Freedom Democratic Party, was an American political party that existed in the state of Mississippi from 1964 to 1968, during the Civil Rights Movement. Created as the partisan political branch of the Freedom Democratic organization, the party was organized by African Americans and White Americans sympathetic to the Civil Rights Movement from Mississippi to challenge the established power of the state Mississippi Democratic Party, which at the time opposed the Civil Rights Movement and allowed participation only by Whites, despite the fact that African Americans made up 40% of the state population.
Aaron Henry reading from a document while seated before the credentials committee
Fannie Lou Hamer, mid-speech to the credentials committee