Freedom Rider Case

In America, the reaction to the protest was very intense. Throughout the protest, the Freedom Riders came across violence and the reaction of the protest was ruthless. While having to delay their journey to change a slashed tire, “one bus was firebombed and the Freedom Riders were beaten (by a white mob). The second bus was similarly attacked and the passengers beaten”.11 In America, there was a Freedom Ride accompanied by the State Highway Patrol, taking their journey headed for Montgomery; but when “local police failed to protect them, they were again beaten”12.

On May 4th, 1961, thirteen brave individuals set out on a mission to start a national movement to overturn segregation in the south. Under the leadership of Congress of Racial Equality, seven African Americans and six whites traveled together on two commercial buses, the Greyhound and the Trailways. They called themselves “The Freedom Riders.” They intended to travel from Washington DC to New Orleans, Louisiana together. On the way, they would deliberately violated Jim Crow laws. The Freedom Riders risked being assaulted, arrested, and even killed. Many other civil rights activists opposed their plan because they felt the idea was too confrontational and dangerous, and could possibly result in a setback for the civil rights movement. Despite the risks and opposition, the Freedom Riders did not abort their mission. The activists were tired of waiting, therefore they decided that they are not going to

Even though his bible was important to him, Jim Lawson workshops shaped his beliefs of nonviolence and love, being the ultimate turning point. The workshops taught others how to react when someone was harassing them, physically or verbally. Lewis especially learned a lot through these workshops and what Lawson was preaching. He claimed, “His words liberated me. I thought this is it. This is the way out” (Lewis 78). See Figure1. Taking up a whole page in March, this picture shows Lewis gazing into the distance with the quote above him, almost as if he’s had a revelation. Through that moment, Lewis learned that nonviolent protest was the answer. Lewis was so moved by these workshops, he wanted to tell everyone, “I told my classmates. I told two of my closest friends Bernard Lafayette and James Bevel. I told everyone they should come to this workshop” (Lewis 79). Lewis really believed these workshops were the answer, he wanted everyone to attend and learn the ways of civil disobedience. To Lewis, this was the only answer.

The Freedom Riders used another tactic of nonviolent protests. The Freedom Riders on their bus just sat there and they counted on the racists to provoke a reaction. CORE Director James Famer said: “We felt we could count on the racists of the south to create a crisis so that the federal government would be so compelled to enforce the law.” The Riders began facing little resistance. “You didn't know what you were going to encounter. You

President Kennedy was forced to face the civil rights as a persuasive cause. He was for racial equality, but did little to support it. President Kennedy felt that the Freedom Riders were a nuisance and he

Lastly before they left there was mix of motives to not get hurt but yet there was the possibility of getting arrested or killed. At this time, John F. Kennedy was the President and he wanted to spread freedom to everywhere but the Deep South because he was too worries about the Soviet Union. President Kennedy continued to remain silent about Civil Rights.

Most riders were college students, some were apart of civil rights groups. From 40 states, the volunteers got training in nonviolent strategies. The ones that could not deal with being spit on, pushed, hit and hearing racial comments were rejected. They wanted strong people in these groups. No one could react in a negative way, the whole point of doing this was to show whites, they can be strong individuals also, just like them, and without the

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.

Jim Lawson spoke about all of the evils we each faced regularly, “And how we could apply nonviolence … to eradicate some of the evils we all faced” (Lewis and Aydin 1:77). As an alternative choice of words, incorporating nonviolence into our daily lives could be the first step in eliminating all the corruptness our world holds. As Jim Lawson was speaking, a spark was ignited in John Lewis, “His words liberated me. I thought, this was it… This is the way out” (Lewis and Aydin 1:78). John Lewis felt as if he was now saved, and possessed a stronger sense of what he was meant to accomplish in his life. He told everyone about the nonviolence workshops hosted by John Lewis. The volunteers portrayed the roles of white people, protesters, investigators, etc. and examined how everyone reacted under stress. They made a name for themselves ‘The Nashville Student Movement”. Through the journey, ‘stress’ became the biggest understatement for the challenges/obstacles The Nashville Student Movement had to endure and

Students from Nashville University agreed to help out in the Civil Rights Movement. They all came together and marched and protested. Once the second group of freedom riders were coming in, they signed their testaments just incase they died, knowing what happened last time, this had to be done. Their last attempt was the lucky one, although they went through some tough roads. KKK was mobbing them and attacking them, soon the law enforcement saw what was happening and finally took it into consideration. On May 20th, the freedom riders finally felt safe and had the protection they needed. Although, they had gotten 110 people were arrested for not following the law. Still they did not give up and on September 22, government took down whites only and blacks only signs at the bus stations and all public

The chapters on the Southern Movement, Cobb highlights the relationships between young activists and local participants in rural communities. He explains how he and other organizers began to recognize that their activism put local participants in danger of getting hurt or even killed. The fact that armed self-defense and gun ownership were ingrained into the southern culture, coupled with the risk involved with black resistance, made it difficult for national organizations like the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) to convince local people to engage solely in nonviolent civil disobedience.

During the Freedom Riders’ travels, they encounter plenty of angry mobs willing to kill anyone in support of the rights of African Americans being moved forward. Regardless of race, many Riders have been mercilessly beaten. A recent incident involved Jim Zwerg, originally from Wisconsin, who was sympathetic to the movement. He boarded a bus with a group of Freedom Riders in Nashville and got off in Montgomery. As he was leaving the bus, an angry mob of segregationists attacked him, and beat him to a pulp. This is just one of many examples of the violence that this decidedly non-violent movement faced. Due to the common extreme violence that happens, the media is very engaged in the movement. Reporters often capture pictures of the unsolicited

Police are arresting as many of the criminals as possible. Two of the buses’ destinations were in Alabama (Montgomery and Birmingham). Both buses were attacked and beaten by angry mobs just before reaching the station. Many of the protesters that escaped boarded another bus to Jackson, Mississippi, but were arrested as soon as the stepped off the bus. Another bus was headed for Alabama, but was blown up by an a group of white supremacists before it reached the station.

It is hard to wrap my head around the fact that riding the bus can get one hurt and killed and how non-volient acts can lead to so much hate and violence. The Freedom Rides help bring attention to national level. The level of violence is extreme in response to a non-violent movement. The white supremacy was trying its best to make the colored population inferior. The segregation is a symbol of fear and hate. The press and television is a big part in the success of the movement. They help shape the public opinion toward segregation. The media brought the problem to our attention through dramatic and often disturbing photos and reports.

The movie Freedom Riders was important to the civil rights movement, which occurred in the 1990s during time this movie took place. The aim of freedom rides “was to call attention to blatant violations of recent Supreme Court ruling against segregation in interstate commerce” (Henretta, Hinderaker, Edwards, Self). The civil rights movement was a fight for equality and police mortality. Freedom Writers takes place in the 1900s during the Watt’s Riot (LA civil rights movement). Blacks were fighting for equality and to be treated as equally as whites; they wanted less police brutality and they rioted for what they believed in.