Essay On Freedom Riders

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

McWhorter, Diane. “The Enduring Courage of the Freedom Riders.” JSTOR.org, Version 1, Number 61, The JBHE Foundation Inc, 2008, Bartonsville, Pennsylvania. March, 2017 The article, The Enduring courage of the Freedom riders, By: Diane McWhorter, talks about the strategies used to gain equal rights for African Americans in the South.

Following, on May 4, 1961, a mixed group of 13 African Americans and white civil rights activist led the Freedom Rides (Freedom Rides?). Similar, to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Freedom Rides traveled to various cities in the south to protest against segregation of the bus terminals. History.com staff concurs “the Freedom Rides, a series of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals.” The purpose of the freedom riders was to openly disobey the Jim Crow laws in the south in a nonviolent fashion. This was a dangerous journey, many of these people were beaten, arrested, and even the buses were destroyed. Yet, they persevered (“Freedom Riders: The Nashville Connection”). History.com staff, adds “The Freedom Riders, were recruited by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a U.S. civil rights group, they departed from Washington D.C., and attempted to integrate facilities at bus terminals along the way in the Deep South.” African Americans would try to use the “whites only” bathrooms and counters, which attracted attention and violence (Freedom Rides). According to the history.com staff due to the efforts of the Freedom Rides, “in September 1961, the interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in bus and train nationwide.” The

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.

Freedom riders challenged the facilities they encountered at bus terminals in the south which had been deemed illegal by the supreme court doing that those were dangerous the things that happened were beatings and arrests for the many people who were in it even Lewis suffered through it.

From blacks getting beaten and mobbed to setting the bus on fire. In 1961, the blacks along with others like white people, had enough of the inequality they had to go through. A group of people known as the Freedom Riders, set out on a journey to the deep south to violate laws. The riders were mistreated but they did not give up, they risked their lives and soon their prayer of freedom was answered.

Blacks have long endured the brutality of criticism because of their skin color. The Freedom Riders took on abuse and a burning bus to test the Court’s ruling, equal transportation for Blacks and Whites. Non-violent sit-ins were another step towards getting Blacks equal rights. Four African American college students walked up to a

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.

Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activist that rode buses into the segregated southern United States in 1961, to fight the decisions of the United States Supreme Court on the court case Boynton vs.Virginia which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. Freedom Riders were recruited by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). CORE also organized the Freedom Rides which took place in 1961.

This research will deeply explain only some of the hardships the Freedom Riders dealt with, as well as the brutality they faced. It will continue to explain how African Americans are still facing racial profiling, and prejudice acts daily.

Some of the members that were in Nashville that had been following their progress had gotten really upset that the group just gave up. So because of this a new group of the Freedom Riders that was in Nashville left and went out to continue the journey of the others. Again they had gotten attacked by a mob in Montgomery.

The Freedom Rides was a campaign, lead by Aboriginal student Charles Perkins, that highlighted and brought international attention to the racism, poor state of Aboriginal health, education and housing in western and coastal New South Wales towns. The campaign consisted of a group formed at the University of Sydney called the Student Action for Aborigines (SAFA), who travelled around NSW towns protesting the rights for Aboriginal people, aiming to decrease the socially discriminatory barriers existing between the Aboriginal and ‘white’ community. They were witness to violence and serious discrimination as they protested and picketed at community segregation areas such as pools, parks and pub. By the conclusion of the campaign, Charles Perkins

13 Freedom Riders were divided into two groups and left for Birmingham, Alabama on May 1, 1961. The two buses, a Grey hound and a Trailways bus, departed from Washington, D.C. 7 black and 6 white men and women were led by CORE director, James Farmer. The riders plan was to have at least 1 interracial pair sitting beside one another and at least 1 single black person sitting in the front of the bus which was reserved for whites only. The remainders of the group would sit where there was room. Only one of the Freedom Riders in the group would obey the South’s segregation laws.

“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