A brave group of young men and women, black and white alike traveled through the south to support

The American Freedom Rides were motivated by the ‘Journey of Reconciliation’ in 1947, “led by civil rights activists Bayard Rustin and George Houser”1. The Freedom Rides in America involved riding a bus opposing the segregation of black and whites riding together in buses2.

A group of people risked their life to obtain equality for African Americans in the south. The Freedom Riders were a group of around 13 people. Most of them were African Americans but there were always a few white skinned people in the group as well. There was no set leader for the Freedom Riders. The Freedom Riders rode interstate buses into the Southern United States. The south was referred to as the most segregated part of the U.S. The main goal of the Freedom Riders was to desegregate and become “separate but equal.” They had also set out to defy the Jim Crow Laws. The Freedom Riders had a little bit of help from two court cases: Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia and Boynton v. Virginia. These court cases ruled that it was

It was now illegal to segregate black and white people on interstate buses and facilities. And even greater than their tangible achievements was the great legacy that they left on the civil rights movement. The Freedom Rider’s ability to remain nonviolent and still succeed left a great impression on the American people and the world at large, and paved the way for many future non violent civil rights demonstrations, such as the Birmingham campaign of 1963 and the Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965.

The Freedom rides were put together by Mr. Farmer and consisted of a mixed race of people. They all followed the rule: “Jail no bail.” This ride was non-violent and resulted in turmoil near the south. This smart idea made James Farmer a powerful leader in the Civil Rights movement. No one had the same amount of courage and fight inside as he did.

“If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” This quote from John Lewis, a former Freedom Rider I believe with those words perfectly describes why these Freedom Riders began their journey. After reading the textbook, Visions of America and watching the video clip from American Experience of Freedom Riders I was able to make myself knowledgeable about Freedom Riders. Both the textbook and the video I thought engaged me into the information I was either reading or listening. So, what exactly are Freedom Riders, what were the impacts of this event and why is this so important to our history?

Eventually, the occurrence of the Orangeburg Massacre led to the racial integration of Orangeburg and many other parts of South Carolina. If the Orangeburg Massacre had not occurred, South Carolina might not have become the racially equal society it is today. However, not everybody agreed with the change that was being brought as a result of the event. Many caucasians at the time attempted to cover the incident up, and to blame whatever could not be hidden on the protesters. Nevertheless, civil rights protesters were not going to let the killing of their fellow pupils be in vain. The students of Orangeburg demanded the punishment of highway patrolmen and other law enforcers on scene the night of the massacre. “They wished to see the officers punished to the fullest extent of the law so that justice could be served to the families of the three young men who were killed” (Pulaski 10). But, as an attempt to hide the massacre, many white-owned newspaper companies either simply refused to report the event, or blamed the massacre on the protesters that participated that night (3 Negroes 1). “A skirmish line of highway patrolmen and city police returned the fire of demonstrating college students last night” (3 Negroes 1). After a scant two weeks, no white-owned newspaper business covered the event at all.

The Freedom Rides were formed on May, 1961, launched by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a U.S. civil rights group. A group of African-Americans and white civil rights activists departed in two buses from Washington, D.C. to the South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals. The Supreme Court rules in December of 1960, that segregation in interstate travel is illegal but still state laws in the southern states and local ordinances ordered segregation of the races on buses.

On May 2011 40 students from different parts of the United States joined the original freedom riders : Jim Zwerg, Who was considered a traitor to his race for participating in the non-violence movements, Ernest “Rip” Patton, he joined the movement two days after the First Baptist Church of Montgomery was attacked by the mobs on May 21, Helen and Bob Singleton and Joan Mulholland that at the time that she joined the freedom rides in June of 1961 was working at the office of a California Senator; in Re-living the 1961 rides from Washington, DC to New Orleans, LA . There is a big difference between the freedom rides of 56 years ago that began with members of the congress of racial Equality (CORE) that sought to fight racism and segregation in the south with non-violence demonstrations and the ones that these students did in 2011, the original ride filled with excitement at first and then with fear when the riders were attacked by the KKK and angry mobs at bus stations and the 2011 freedom rides filled with 40 students from different walks of life traveling with 5 heroes of the civil rights movement, learning about history and reliving it first hand during this 10 day trip. Some of the stories documented by these young freedom riders show us that there are still remnants of that same hate and discrimination of the 1960 decade; it happened to Doaa Dorgham, ironically, on the first day that she was embarking on the journey of the freedom riders, which is precisely to

Stanley Nelson chronicles the journey of a group of individuals, known as the Freedom Riders, whom fought for the rights of African Americans to have the same amenities and access as the Caucasians. The purpose of the Freedom Rides was to deliberately violate the Jim Crow laws of the south that prohibited blacks and whites from mixing together on buses and trains. Expectedly, many of the Freedom Riders were beaten and the majority was imprisoned. This carried on for the majority of 1961 and culminated with the Interstate Commerce Commission issuing an order to end the segregation in bus and rail stations. Nelson encapsulates this entire movement in about two hours. At the end of the two hours, the viewer is emotionally tied to the

On May 20th, the Nashville riders went back to Birmingham where there were no incidents. Then, all of the Freedom Riders traveled to Montgomery where a mob of men, women, and children carrying baseball bats, tire irons, and bricks met them at the bus terminal. The angry mob swarmed the riders and they were walking off the bus and beat the passengers. They attacked SNCC activists John Lewis and Jim Zwerg, who were both severely injured in this act of violence.

The original group of 13 Freedom Riders, seven African Americans and six whites, left Washington on a Greyhound bus . Their plan was to reach New Orleans, on May 17 to remember the 7th anniversary

The freedom riders did not just speak about what they thought should be done they also risked there life so that all African Americans would not be treated badly because of there skin color “The freedom Riders”(Holmes , Martin Smith).The freedom riders had to stand up to people that made there life horrible , made

On May 14, 1961 the first attack on the Freedom Riders happened in Anniston, Alabama. The Grey Hound bus the riders were on was attacked at the station and after being able to escape there the mob followed the bus down the road and forced to pull over. This mob full of Ku Klux Klan members tried and failed to gain access to the bus upon failing multiple times the bus was bombed and the riders and other passengers were trapped inside. The mob planned to kill the riders but highway patrolmen showed up and warning shots sent the mob away letting the riders off. But it didn’t stop there, once off the bus the mob beats the riders to the point they have to be hospitalized. The second bus, a Trailway’s bus didn’t have a chance to make it out the station before the riders were

“Freedom Riders” were a group of people, both black and white, who were civil rights activists from the North who “meant to demonstrate that segregated travel on interstate buses, even though banned by an I.C.C. Ruling, were still being enforced throughout much of the South” (The South 16). The Riders attempted to prove this by having a dozen or so white and black Freedom Riders board buses in the North and travel through Southern cities. This was all “a coldly calculated attempt to speed up integration by goading the South, forcing the Southern extremists to explode their tempers” ('Freedom Riders' 20). The author of the Newsweek article stated this as the Southern opinion of the reason for the Freedom Riders. The

A Greyhound bus heading to Birmingham, Alabama was ambushed just outside of Anniston, Alabama by 15 white men. The tires on the bus were slashed, windows got smashed, then tear gas was released and