Freedom Rides Importance

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

The African-American population was highly persecuted, although instead of being cast aside and thought to be useless they were kept as slaves. Many of the Black populous attempted to rise up against their white masters but they were easily cut down by the government and everyone else around them. To deal with this, the African-Americans turned to God and began following Christian practices in their homes and families. This created a massive Christian culture among them. Many people eventually rose up, and on December 1, 1955, a woman named Rosa Parks went against the government’s rule of black and white segregation in the bus system. Her act was the start of many non-violent protests which included; sitting in, marches and the Freedom Riders. The Freedom Riders were a group of people, of both black and white ethnicity who drove through the south of the United States to prove the point of racial equality. This proved effective, as did the other non violent protests, set up by Martin Luther King Jr. He was one of the few black ministers to rise up for his people. Although Martin Luther King Jr. was effective throughout his life, his death was the most influential part of his work. His death was a catalyst which eventually drew the government to allow basic civil rights, stopping the oppression of

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

Another tactic used in the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) was challenging state laws about the mixing of multiple races. This strategy was put to the test in 1961 when eight white men and eight african americans rode interstate buses through Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, triggering harassment and arrest. An original intention of this action, also known as the Journey for Reconciliation, was to raise awareness towards the organization CORE and help society realize how segregation was affecting the struggling communities. (Zunes and Laird 2010, The US Civil Rights Movement (1942-1968).) CORE, although a consistently small organization, made the freedom rides successful by conducting multiple sit-ins, such as Chicago in 1942, St. Lewis in 1949, and Baltimore in 1959. They also collaborated with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) in 1947 for the first freedom ride. (Zunes and Laird 2010, The US Civil Rights Movement (1942-1968).) However, even with CORE executing these plans, there were still some amazing and bold leaders fighting in and out of the sit-ins. James Lawson passed his powerful beliefs on along with the principles of Gandhian nonviolence to train potential future front runners. He also became the field secretary for FOR and in his time there arranged the Nashville Student Movement's sit-in campaign of 1960. Another key figure in the freedom rides was Joseph Perkins from Owensboro, Kentucky, the Field Secretary of CORE starting from 1960. He was

"You have the right to live in the kind of world where your rights and freedoms are respected" conveyed in Article 28 draws attention to the way aboriginal people were forced to live in, as they were prejudiced from the main towns in Australia. Article 28 gave respected freedom and rights to the indigenous to live however they want. On the 4th of May, 1961 a similar protest to the aboriginal freedom ride took place. A group of African-American and white civil rights protestants began bus trips to several towns in South America. The Freedom Rides were established by the Congress of Racial Equality, a US civil rights groups. Their purpose was to test the 1960 decision that segregation of national bus terminals was prohibited. They attempted to use 'white only' lunch tables, waiting rooms and restrooms. This proved to be a dangerous mission as they endured a lot of violent. Another evidence of White-Americans hatred towards the Africans was the incident that transpired inAnniston, Alabama. One bus was firebombed and the African-American passengers were forced to flee for their lives.

Freedom Riders exposed the many ways of Southern resistance by the numerous acts of violence committed towards them. Violence was experienced not from civilians, police officers and a mass of Ku Klux Klan members (KKK). The Freedom riders faced bus bombings, being beaten, and near lynching. The Freedom Riders decided to unmask what was happening in the south to showcase the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions Morgan v. Virginia in 1946 and Boynton v. Virginia in 1960, which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional.The Southern states had ignored the rulings and the federal government did nothing to enforce them. "The Riders' dangerous passage through the bus terminals and jails of the Jim Crow South represented only one part of an extended journey for justice that stretched back to the dawn of American history and beyond" (Arsenault 10). The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sponsored most of the Freedom Rides, but some were also organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The Freedom Rides consisted of dramatic sit-ins against segregated lunch counters, conducted by students and youth throughout the South, and boycotts of retail establishments that maintained segregated facilities, beginning in 1960.The Supreme Court's decision in Boynton supported the right of interstate travelers to disregard local segregation ordinances. Southern local and state police considered the actions of the Freedom Riders to be

Sit-ins and Freedom rides became the new top controversial occurances throughout the South. It began to happen more and more frequently. Black were beaten, brutalized, mocked, and even killed all because they were trying to prove a point that they firmly believed in. In the

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

The NSW freedom rides occurred in 1965 from the 12th of February to the 26th February starting in Sydney, travelling through inland NSW and finishing in Sydney. The Freedom Rides were lead by Kumantjayi (Charles) Perkins who was a member of the SAFA (Student Action for Aborigines) club in the University of Sydney. The activists were concerned with the: Aboriginal living and health issues; aboriginal people being made to live on reserves out of town; local authorities denying Aboriginal people to facilities (hotels, club, swimming pools, service in shops, and equal treatment in cinemas); the ways in which rural communities discriminated against Aboriginal people. The Activists impacted upon the opinions of individual people, the public and of the government by raising public awareness, recognising Charles Perkins as a national figure and by providing support for the 1967 Referendum.

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

On the contrary they where diverse from each other. In the end all of the acts had the same goal, the way they went about them was a little bit different. In the freedom rides going against fellow white men 6 men went along with the freedom rides. It was about half white men and half black men. The mobs didn't care what color they where they just cared who was supporting the african americans. On the other hand birmingham consisted of all african american black men. These men marched to protest the unfair segregation lead by martin luther king junior. THey marched the birmingham. The freedom riders chose a different path. They chose to take the brunt of the heat by traveling into the most racist parts of the US, Mostly through the east. Furthermore

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.

“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

As a response, the Congress of Racial Equality—also known as CORE—and the Fellowship of Reconciliation decided to arrange interracial and bus rides across state lines. The Journey of Reconciliation, as they were called, decided to focus on the rampant bus segregation of the upper South, but avoided the more dangerous and risky areas of the deep south. Unfortunately, there was a lack of media attention and, ultimately, CORE's goals and rides went unnoticed. In 1961, however, new—and successful—Freedom Rides were actualized. CORE partnered with student activists to continue previous efforts made to fight segregated bus rides and bus terminals. On May 4, 1961, two buses began the trip from Washington DC to New Orleans. They riders were met with little resistance and violence until they arrived in Rockhill, South Carolina. There were many violent beatings and arrests of the riders. The events in Rockhill, South Carolina initiated the national media coverage of the rides. On May 14, the Freedom Rides arrived in Anniston, Alabama. There, the riders were met with a violent mob of regular citizens and Ku Klux Klan members. Local authorities, lead by Birmingham Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene “Bull” Connor—who was known as an