One of several New York City teachers who taught at Mississippi Freedom Schools in  summer 1964, Adickes incorporated books students wanted to read and encouraged them to lead discussions. When her students decided to apply for library cards from the segregated Hattiesburg public library, she accompanied them. After the police expelled them from the library, they stopped for lunch at a Kress five-and-dime. A waitress took the students orders, but refused to serve Adickes. She sued the company, but the case was dismissed. The Supreme Court later ruled she had the right to a trial. Ultimately, Adickes settled with Kress and donated her settlement to fund Black students’ college educations.  Among those who benefitted from her generosity: a former Freedom School student and the children of slain civil rights leader Vernon Dahmer.