In 1964, Wendy Whittaker, a white sophomore from Oberlin College, and Cynthia Moore, an African American junior at Swarthmore College join nearly 1,000 college students on the Mississippi Summer Project to help African Americans secure their voting rights. Cynthia and Wendy struggle to find their place in the freedom movement. Their initial failed efforts to empower black Mississippians, combined with unrelenting tension, terror and violence will drive them to the breaking point. If they are to survive "Freedom Summery" they must overcome their fears and discover the heroine within. "Freedom Summer" also features civil rights activists Fanny Lou Hamer, Dorie Ladner, Hollis Watkins, James Forman, as well a composite fictional characters who are recurring figures within the Civil Rights Arts Project series of dramatic works.