<P> In 1964, organizers launched the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) to challenge the all - white official party . When Mississippi voting registrars refused to recognize their candidates, they held their own primary . They selected Fannie Lou Hamer, Annie Devine, and Victoria Gray to run for Congress, and a slate of delegates to represent Mississippi at the 1964 Democratic National Convention . </P> <P> The presence of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was inconvenient, however, for the convention organizers . They had planned a triumphant celebration of the Johnson administration's achievements in civil rights, rather than a fight over racism within the Democratic Party . All - white delegations from other Southern states threatened to walk out if the official slate from Mississippi was not seated . Johnson was worried about the inroads that Republican Barry Goldwater's campaign was making in what previously had been the white Democratic stronghold of the "Solid South", as well as support that George Wallace had received in the North during the Democratic primaries . </P> <P> Johnson could not, however, prevent the MFDP from taking its case to the Credentials Committee . There Fannie Lou Hamer testified eloquently about the beatings that she and others endured and the threats they faced for trying to register to vote . Turning to the television cameras, Hamer asked, "Is this America?" </P> <P> Johnson offered the MFDP a "compromise" under which it would receive two non-voting, at - large seats, while the white delegation sent by the official Democratic Party would retain its seats . The MFDP angrily rejected the "compromise ." </P>

Explain the reasons and origins of the civil right movement in the usa