The time came when Moses and other organizers felt that it would be good to involve the rest of the nation in the struggle for freedom in Mississippi. The Movement would not be able to progress without national recognition and support. Ideas passed through the community for a while, and eventually the organizations agreed that involving northern students in the movement would be the most effective way. The idea for this type of a project spread throughout the north, spurred on by growing concern over the national news stories of violence in Mississippi. Moses traveled throughout the state, discussing the possible ways in which they could approach the project. There was some opposition to the idea from people who believed that the only way to freedom was for Black people to attain it themselves. This idea eventually gave way, however, to a demand for exposure. There was a general consensus that by opening up the state to outside forces, the state's politically isolating forces would be abolished and destructed. At first, Moses was conflicted about the prospect of the project, but he decided in the end that the ultimate goal justified the means. He continued to hold true to his beliefs that the unifying force and organization of the Movement should come from the Black people of Mississippi.

The planning and organization of the Freedom Summer Project of 1964 immediately got underway. Close to a thousand students from northern universities and colleges were recruited as volunteers to come to Mississippi for a summer and worked with voter registration organizations. The students stayed in hostiles and with Black families while in Mississippi and quickly became the subjects of great persecution and hatred. The volunteers were generally sons and daughters of wealthy, influential white northerners hoping to do some good in the world. Their idealistic views of life were put to some very harsh realities once they arrived. While the students were greatly effected by their time in the South, they also dramatically effected the progress of the Movement, allowing the voter registration process to multiply significantly. Their work over the summer produced precisely the intended effect, it produced a whole generation of Americans dedicated to the political and economic freedom of Blacks in the South.