Freedom Summer of 1964 resounds from the walls of the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum: gripping images of a landmark time when civil rights activists merged in Mississippi to sign up as many African-American voters as they could in a state with the most dismal percentage of black voter registration in the nation.

The 10-week campaign, which created special "freedom schools" for a neglected and disenfranchised African-American population, is credited for aiding the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and energizing the movement that led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Scenes of that summer, captured by a team of eight photographers who comprised the Southern Documentary Project, are on view now in the Delray Beach museum’s "Oh Freedom Over Me" exhibit.

The images speak to the sacrifice and determination of a population to gain equality, access to education and the right to vote.

"This is a pivotal point in the African-American rights movement. We wanted to educate the younger people in our community, so that they may know the resilience of those in the struggle," says Brandy Brownlee, Spady Museum educator. "And for the older people in our community, the exhibit offers an opportunity to reflect on an era they witnessed and took part in."

The "Oh Freedom Over Me" exhibit, which opened in January, was particularly popular during February’s Black History Month, Brownlee says, with a bustle of visiting student and community groups.

On loan from Duke University’s Center of Documentary Studies, the exhibit includes 13 reportage-style photographs of that summer, a series of campaign banners and a documentary film titled Freedom On My Mind.

"The first five minutes of the documentary will blow you away," Brownlee says. "I’ve learned a lot about the era myself. I’m always amazed at the courage of the people, their pride and strength, and the sacrifices they made to have the freedoms and the liberties we have today."

‘Oh Freedom Over Me’: Through March 27 at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, 170 N.W. Fifth Ave., Delray Beach.

Information: (561) 279-8883.