Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) was a political party formed in 1964 as an alternative to the dominantly white and conservative Democratic Party of Mississippi. After President Lyndon B. Johnson formed a coalition between liberal Democrats and liberal and moderate Republicans to address issues of concern to African Americans, conservative Southern Democrats openly encouraged their members to vote for the 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed civil rights legislation.
In response, African American Mississippians formed the MFDP as an alternative group that would represent their interests at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. With the support of Martin Luther King, Jr., the MFDP nominated three African American women—Fannie Lou Hamer (one of the cofounders of the party) and civil rights activists Annie Devine and Victoria Gray—to run against the traditional Democrats in the state’s 1964 congressional elections.
In response, African American Mississippians formed the MFDP as an alternative group that would represent their interests at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. With the support of Martin Luther King, Jr., the MFDP nominated three African American women—Fannie Lou Hamer (one of the cofounders of the party) and civil rights activists Annie Devine and Victoria Gray—to run against the traditional Democrats in the state’s 1964 congressional elections.
