Mississippi Notebook

In the summer of 1964, Mississippi became a flashpoint for the civil rights movement during Freedom Summer--a season marked by courage, terror, and relentless struggle. Chicago Daily News reporter Nicholas von Hoffman journeyed deep into the heart of the state to capture the unvarnished reality of life in Mississippi during this pivotal moment.

Over ten tense weeks and 6,000 miles, von Hoffman bore witness to the Delta’s heat, the piney hills’ quiet, and the Gulf’s restlessness, documenting the complex and volatile relationships between white and Black Mississippians. His reporting reveals a state caught between its violent past and a potential for change, illuminating the ordinary lives and extraordinary bravery of those who stood on the front lines of justice.

Now, over sixty years later, Mississippi Notebook endures as a vital document of a transformative period in American history. This edition features a new introduction by civil rights scholar Charles W. McKinney Jr., who contextualizes von Hoffman’s sharp and poignant observations as a powerful counter to oversimplified narratives about Freedom Summer.

Mississippi Notebook reminds us of the enduring importance of movements powered by collective courage and the necessity of confronting the forces of fear and bigotry to achieve lasting change.

Nicholas von Hoffman (1929-2018) was an American journalist and author. He worked as a community organizer for Saul Alinsky in Chicago and wrote for The Washington Post, among other publications. Henry Herr Gill (1930-2025)was a photojournalist who worked for the Chicago Daily News and the Chicago Sun-Times, among other newspapers. His work led to assignments in ninety-two countries, and his photographs and films in the world’s hot spots have been highly acclaimed. Charles W. McKinney Jr. is professor of history at Rhodes College. He is author of Greater Freedom: The Evolution of the Civil Rights Struggle in Wilson, North Carolina and coeditor of An Unseen Light: Black Struggles for Freedom in Memphis, Tennessee and From Rights to Lives: The Evolution of the Black Freedom Struggle.