Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who, in 1961, embarked on inter-state bus journeys to challenge and promote the enforcement of a Supreme Court ruling that outlawed racial segregation in facilities serving interstate travelers. This movement was initiated by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), led by James Farmer, who drew inspiration from a similar action taken in 1947. The Freedom Riders consisted of both African Americans and whites who adopted a nonviolent approach to advocate for racial integration. Their journey began in Washington, D.C., with the first group leaving on May 4, 1961.
As they traveled south, they faced escalating violence, particularly in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where two riders were beaten for attempting to enter a segregated waiting room. The situation intensified when a mob attacked them in Anniston, Alabama, firebombing their bus and assaulting passengers. This violence highlighted the dangers faced by those advocating for civil rights. Despite the initial ride ending prematurely, subsequent groups continued the effort, leading to increased national awareness and pressure on the federal government to enforce the integration of public facilities. The Freedom Rides ultimately contributed to significant changes in regulations governing interstate travel and showcased a commitment among diverse Americans to fight against racial injustice.
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who traveled on interstate bus lines in 1961 in order to promote enforcement of a 1960 Supreme Court ruling that prohibited racial segregation in facilities that served interstate travelers.James Farmer, the national director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), modeled the protest after a similar effort that the organization had undertaken in 1947. Like their predecessors in 1947, the Freedom Riders were both African Americans and whites committed to a nonviolent approach to achieving the goal of a racially integrated United States.
The first group of Freedom Riders, seven African Americans and six whites, met in Washington, DC, for training sessions on May 1, 1961. They left the nation’s capital three days later, traveling south on two different bus lines. The Freedom Riders met with little resistance until they arrived in Rock Hill, South Carolina. When John Lewis, an African American seminary student, and Albert Bigelow, a white retired naval officer, attempted to enter the white waiting room in the bus station, a group of white youths beat them. This incident foreshadowed the violence that the Freedom Riders would meet later on their journey through the American South. Outside Anniston, Alabama, on May 14, a mob firebombed the bus on which the Freedom Riders were traveling and attacked the passengers as they hurried off the burning wreckage. That same day, another contingent of Freedom Riders suffered beatings at the bus station in Birmingham, Alabama. Because of the violence, the bus drivers refused to carry the Freedom Riders any farther, and the protest ended with a plane flight to New Orleans, Louisiana.
The premature end of the first Freedom Ride did not mark the end of the effort, which had captured the attention of the nation and placed pressure on the administration of President John F. Kennedy to enforce the Supreme Court ruling. A second group of Freedom Riders, eight African Americans and two whites, set forth from Nashville, Tennessee, just days after the first ride had ended. After a great deal of difficulty, most of this group reached Montgomery, Alabama, where they met with a second group of eleven activists who had arrived to join the protest. Angry white segregationists confronted the Freedom Riders, and the scene at Montgomery degenerated into a riot during which several Freedom Riders were badly injured. Despite this incident, supporters of civil rights throughout the nation volunteered to continue the protests. Biracial Freedom Rides continued throughout the summer of 1961, with hundreds of riders jailed in southern states for violating local ordinances. The continuing crisis prompted the Interstate Commerce Commission to issue regulations, in September 1961, enforcing the Supreme Court ruling regarding segregation in interstate travel facilities.
The biracial nature of the Freedom Rides revealed that Americans from diverse backgrounds were willing to risk their safety, even their lives, to secure the civil rights of African Americans. The violence surrounding the Freedom Rides also proved that southerners committed to perpetuating racial segregation would attack white civil rights activists with as much abandon as they did the African American protesters.
Bibliography
Armstrong, Thomas M., and Natalie R. Bell. Autobiography of a Freedom Rider: My Life as a Foot Soldier for Civil Rights. Deerfield Beach: Health Communications, 2011. Print.
Catsam, Derek. Freedom's Main Line: The Journey of Reconciliation and the Freedom Rides. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 2009. Print.
"CORE Volunteers Put Their Lives on the Road." CORE: Congress of Racial Equality. CORE, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Greene, Eric. "UCLA to Honor Alumni Who Fought Segregation as Freedom Riders." UCLA Newsroom. UCLA, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Silver, Carol Ruth. Freedom Rider Diary: Smuggled Notes from Parchman Prison. Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 2014. Print.