Civil rights organization that organized the freedom riders, led by james farmer. Historian yohuru williams describes the civil rightsera freedom rides protests and the supreme court decisions that inspired them. The freedom rides museum is located at 210 south court street in montgomery, alabama, in the building which was until 1995 the montgomery greyhound bus station. Momentum is growing to construct a suitable memorial at the siteone of the most iconic locations in the struggle to end segregationbefore. A bus tour in the deep south retraces the route of the civil. In anniston, at the greyhound station, a white mob had gathered waiting for the first bus with its freedom riders. Freedom riders national endowment for the humanities neh. One of the buses was firebombed, and its fleeing passengers were forced into the angry white mob. In this lesson, we will discuss the freedom riders, an interracial group of blacks and whites who sought to desegregate americas public bus transportation system in the summer of 1961. Today the burned greyhound bus is on display at alabamas birmingham civil rights institute. At the birmingham civil rights institute, the umw group saw the freedom riders bus, which was firebombed by the kkk in anniston, alabama on mothers day, may 14, 1961.
Brimner, author of several other books about civil rights in this era, knows the material well and presents a straightforward narrative approach. May 16, 2011 when the second bus arrived in birmingham, passengers were brutally attacked by another klan mob. Raymond says this is a story that needed to be told. The book serves a companion piece to the pbs special and provides the finer details and fascinating behindthescenes reportage. The bus tries to flee, but the attackers give chase, halting it on the outskirts of town, then setting it on fire. In anniston and birmingham, other freedom riders were beaten so badly they couldnt continue the journey, but their story inspired hundreds of other riders who began taking buses through the deep south. At first, genevieve hughes, seated only a few feet away from the explosion, thought the bombthrower was just trying to scare the freedom riders. The mob followed the bus in automobiles, and when the tires on the bus blew out, someone threw a bomb into the bus. On may 14, 1961, mothers day, the greyhound bus carrying freedom riders was attacked and fire bombed by by members of the ku klux klan kkk near anniston, alabama. A bus tour in the deep south retraces the route of the. A group of freedom riders are met by an angry mob of whites outside of anniston, alabama where the bus is fire bombed. The first group of freedom riders, sponsored by core and traveling in two groups on trailways and greyhound buses, was met with so much violence that the rides were abandoned. Included are interviews from local residents, both black and white. Jun 29, 2009 on may 14, 1961, a greyhound bus carrying seven freedom riders, organized by the congress of racial equality core, traveled south from atlanta to test newly upheld federal prohibitions against segregation in interstate transportation.
Attack on freedom riders, 1961the 1961 freedom rides were public bus trips undertaken by racially integrated groups through the deep south to test the enforcement of a newly enacted court order prohibiting segregation in interstate bus terminals. The tale of the freedom riders is somber yet triumphant, setting the tone for the victories that were to come, but serving too as a reminder that no battle is ever completely won. Freedom riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern united states in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the nonenforcement of the united states supreme court decisions morgan v. A new documentary, freedom riders, airs on pbs stations may 16. The white mob held the doors to trap the riders inside and then brutally attacked. Fifty years later, hank, who was 19 years old when he signed on to be a freedom rider, still remembers that day. Freedom riders jimmy mcdonald, left, and hank thomas and regular passenger roberta holmes sit in front of the burnedout shell of a freedom bus.
The bus passengers assaulted that day were freedom riders, among the first of. On greyhound with the freedom riders washington post. When the second bus arrived in birmingham, passengers were brutally attacked by another klan mob. One of the buses was fire bombed and the mob held the doors shut, intent on burning the riders. Opinion remembering the freedom riders the new york times. Freedom rides teaches students history, firsthand the. Freedom riders were groups of white and african american civil rights activists who participated in freedom rides, bus trips through the american south in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals. This summer, a group of 40 students and teachers from usf st. Reporters were also beaten, that way the media cannot let this fight spill out. Jan 16, 2018 on may 4, 1961, a bus carrying black and white antisegregation activists called the freedom riders rolled into alabama and was immediately attacked by members of the kkk. Freedom rides teaches students history, firsthand the crow.
When i began work on the book about years ago, i wasnt sure that anybody could do full justice to the freedom riders story, raymond says. Firmly renouncing violence in the spirit of gandhi, they set the course of civil rights actions that followed. The riders were met with hostility and violence in a number of states, and they encountered some of the worst violence in alabama. Your bus eases into the station parking lot just after 1 p. The riders were beaten, bombed and thrown in jail for trying to integrate interstates and bus stations. As the bus carrying you and your group of black and white colleagues. On mothers day, may 14, 1961, a greyhound bus carrying freedom riders arrived at the anniston, alabama, bus station shortly after 1. Freedom riders national monument is a new national park unit. Freedom riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern united states in 1961 and following years to challenge the nonenforcement of the united states supreme court decisions irene morgan v. Along with the martin luther king, the freedom riders were inspired by the 1947 journey of reconciliation. However, the students in nashville, tennessee, who had already successfully challenged segregation there, felt that to give up in the face of violence was an. The mob holds freedom rider bus burned outside of anniston al.
The freedom riders escaped through an open back window before the bus exploded. The may 1961 assaults, carried out by a mob of white protesters who confronted the civil rights activists, shocked the. The second bus of riders arrived in birmingham and were attacked by a group of angry people. A striking and spacious book design with blackandwhite images provides immediacy. Nashville students and sncc pick up freedom rides sncc.
It shows how a common interest in justice created the convergent path that enabled these young men to meet as freedom riders on a bus journey south. The bus they rode on, a greyhound, was fire bombed and destroyed. Most of the time, the freedom riders were attacked when they went into the bus stations and public locations. If to kill a mockingbird is a novel that should be read by every student in the usa in order to understand the racial history of their nation then freedom ride is the australian equivalent. But when the bus reaches the montgomery city limits the highway patrol suddenly disappears from both buses. The coresponsored rides were part of a monthslong series of protests that stretched from diverse locales. Riders in anniston al, attacking the greyhound bus, smashing the windows, and slashing the tires. Freedom riders were groups of white and african american civil rights activists who participated in freedom rides, bus trips through the american south in. But many riders also encountered problems just by simply riding the bus route. The bus goes south towards montgomery escorted by alabama highway patrol cars. Site of the violence as freedom riders bus was bombed and riders beaten. Plan your visit freedom riders national monument u. Their plan was to reach new orleans, louisiana, on may.
Freedom rider recalls firebombed bus that nearly took his. On may 14, 1961, freedom riders were brutally attacked by violent, wellarmed and organized mobs of klansmen and other terrorists in anniston and birmingham, ala. They travelled in integrated seating and visited white only restaurants. Virginia 1960, which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. Jan 01, 2006 this book is an amazing account of the freedom riderscollege students who braved jail, beatings, and indeed their lives in the summer of 1961 to desegregate interstate bus travel. Jan 12, 2006 freedom riders jimmy mcdonald, left, and hank thomas and regular passenger roberta holmes sit in front of the burnedout shell of a freedom bus on may 14, 1961.
This book is an amazing account of the freedom riderscollege students who braved jail, beatings, and indeed their lives in the summer of 1961 to desegregate interstate bus travel. The consolidation story, from civil rights to the jaguars deftly weaves an intricate narrative of the 1961 freedom rides, the civil rights. An appendix running fiftyfour pages at the back of his nearly 700page 2006 book freedom riders. Dec 1, 2016 may 14, 1961 american civil rights movement. The southern states had ignored the rulings and the.
Firstperson accounts from fellow riders illustrate the challenges along the ride, including confrontations, intense street debates, and physical violence. In late 2011, palestinian activists, inspired by the freedom riders, used the same methods in israel by boarding a bus from which they were excluded. When the freedom riders step off the bus, hundreds of klansmen attack them. Aug 22, 2011 the riders were beaten, bombed and thrown in jail for trying to integrate interstates and bus stations. On may 14mothers daywhen the trailways bus reached anniston, alabama, it was firebombed by a mob of klansman, who also slashed its tires and pressed against the doors trying to hold the riders inside as the bus burned. Alabama arrival the last stop was in alabama where one buses of riders were fire bomed by a mob of angry protestors. In may 1961, a group of young people seven black and six white sponsored by core and modeled after the 1947 core journey of reconciliation anderson, pp. Thomas remembers the smoke from the firebomb going into his lungs 55 years ago near anniston. Sncc student hank thomas was beaten over the head with a baseball bat and others were assaulted. Freedom riders compares and contrasts the childhoods of john lewis and james zwerg in a way that helps young readers understand the segregated experience of our nations past. The first, at the greyhound station in anniston where the mob first attacked the bus and slashed its tires.
The historic importance of the montgomery greyhound bus station is limited to this one day, but the repercussions from the events of may 20, 1961, brought the civil rights struggle into sharp relief and caught national and international attention. On may 14, mothers day, in anniston, alabama, a mob of klansmen, some still in church attire, attacked the first of the two buses the greyhound. Freedom riders organized by core from washington to alabama and mississippi attacked on mothers day massacre, riders beaten, church surrounded by mob and president kennedy sends us. Claude agreed that we should be on the bus, and we sat down just a couple of seats in back of the driver. Jan 01, 2017 historian yohuru williams describes the civil rightsera freedom rides protests and the supreme court decisions that inspired them. Aug 17, 2011 the bus burned and the riders inside barely escaped. Freedom riders jimmy mcdonald, left, and hank thomas and regular passenger roberta holmes sit in front of the burnedout shell of a freedom bus on may 14, 1961. Joseph postiglione, freedom riders bus after attack in anniston, alabama, 1961. On may 4, 1961, a bus carrying black and white antisegregation activists called the freedom riders rolled into alabama and was immediately.
Freedom rides african american civil rights movement. On greyhound with the freedom riders the washington post. Petersburg, stetson university college of law and stetson university, deland, set off for a week on a bus into the heart of the south to learn their story. Mothers day, may 14, 1961, as greyhound bus carrying freedom riders and other passengers burns after being fire bombed by white mob that attacked the bus and some riders near anniston, alabama. The people who had bombed the bus were blocking it shut. On may 14, 1961 as the greyhound bus was arriving at the bus station in anniston, alabama, a mob of about 200 people armed with iron bars, clubs blackjacks and tire chains was waiting for them.
The second bus makes it to birmingham only to be met by a klan mob aided by local police who beat and attack the riders. In 2006, 45 years later, raymond arsenault was the first historian to write a comprehensive book about the movement. When the bus finally left the station, there were more reporters on board than freedom riders. In birmingham, the occupants of another freedom rider bus, a trailways, had also been assaulted. Another mothers day has come and gone and still no officially supported memorial honors the freedom riders at the site where civil rights workers braved the vicious firebombing of their bus near anniston, alabama, on mothers day in may 1961. Written by one of the passengers, this book recounts the story of australias historic freedom ridethe 1965 bus journey of 29 sydney university students to fight racism. The heinous 1961 kkk attack on the freedom riders youtube.
The bus firebomb made freedom rider hank thomas stronger. On may 4, 1961, a bus carrying black and white antisegregation activists called the freedom riders rolled into alabama and was immediately attacked by members of the kkk. On this mothers day, a group of freedom riders traveling by bus from washington, d. The bus burned and the riders inside barely escaped. The original group of freedom ridersseven african americans and six whitesleft washington, d.
On may 14, 1961 the freedom riders bus was bombed near anniston, alabama by an angry mob. It was the site of a violent attack on participants in the 1961 freedom ride during the civil rights movement. A mob of 300 white segregationists attacked black and white freedom riders at the greyhound bus station in montgomery. Despite their commitment to nonviolence, the freedom riders were attacked and beaten, and by the time they made it to alabama, their bus was fire bombed and several riders sustained serious injuries. This book is an amazing account of the freedom riders college students who braved jail, beatings, and indeed their lives in the summer of 1961 to desegregate interstate bus travel. When they reached anniston on 14th may the freedom riders were attacked by men armed with clubs, bricks, iron pipes and knives. On may 20, 1961, the freedom riders were attacked by a local mob at the montgomery greyhound bus station in montgomery, alabama. After a mob attacked a bus with protesters in alabama in 1961, hundreds more. May 1961 nashville students and sncc pick up freedom rides. A freedom riders bus is fire bombed near anniston, alabama and the civil rights protestors are beaten by an angry mob. The freedom riders bus is fire bombed near anniston, alabama, and the civil rights protesters are beaten by an angry mob. Survival instincts rushed his body and moved him off the floor of that bus, but when he got to the door, he couldnt open it. Genevieve hughes haughton and hank thomas are two of the surviving freedom riders who were on the bus that was bombed in alabama.
Blog 2017 resources for remembering the freedom riders. The book, a collection of etheridges recent portraits of 80 freedom riders. The freedom riders, then and now history smithsonian magazine. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Rocks and bricks were thrown at the riders and the bus was often times attacked. The white mob held the doors to trap the riders inside and then brutally attacked them as they tried to escape the flames. The freedom riders national monument established by barack obama includes two locations. The park includes the former greyhound bus station located at 1031 gurnee avenue in downtown anniston where segregationists attacked a bus carrying freedom riders in may of 1961, and the spot six miles away on the side of the highway where they firebombed the hobbled bus and attempted to trap the freedom riders inside it.
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