Opinion remembering the freedom riders the new york times. That month, the freedom ride movement began with interstate buses driving into the deep. Historian yohuru williams describes the civil rightsera freedom rides protests and the supreme court decisions that inspired them. After an attempt of a freedom ride through alabama ended in multiply hospitalized people and a buses lit on fire, there was the another attempt of a freedom ride through alabama. Brimner, author of several other books about civil rights in this era, knows the material well and presents a straightforward narrative approach. The freedom riders, many of whom were students, attempted to travel from washington, d. They were practically tripping over each other because they were so sick, janie recounts in the documentary freedom riders. In anniston, the original bus carrying the freedom riders was fire bombed. A halfdozen guardsmen boarded the bus, then the 12 freedom riders nine negro men, one white man, two negro women. Kkk attacked freedom riders jerry mitchell, clarion ledger published 9. 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.
Racist got on the bus and beat up african americans. Congressman john lewis recalls may 4 in 1961, when seven whites and six blacks traveled south to test a decision of the u. The riders were met with hostility and violence in a number of states, and they encountered some of the worst violence in alabama. Of the two buses that left washington may 4, one was surrounded by whites in anniston, ala. The event spurred the government to act on civil rights legislation. Reporters were also beaten, that way the media cannot let this fight spill out. Freedom rider recalls firebombed bus that nearly took his. The freedom riders set out to challenge this status quo by riding various forms of public transportation in the south to challenge local laws or customs that enforced segregation. Civil rights activists known as freedom riders sit at a bus station in birmingham, alabama, in may 1961.
On this mothers day, a group of freedom riders traveling by bus from washington, d. 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. In 1963, the church was bombed, killing four young girls. As he said back then, the mob was angry and ruthless. Their efforts transformed the civil rights movement. An appendix running fiftyfour pages at the back of his nearly 700page 2006 book freedom riders. 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. Hank thomas, then 19, was one of the freedom riders on that bus, and he opened up about the experience during the farewell season of the oprah winfrey show.
Freedom riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated. Freedom riders national endowment for the humanities neh. Attorney general robert kennedy intervenes on behalf of these freedom riders. The mob attacked the bus with baseball bats and iron pipes. The coresponsored rides were part of a monthslong series of protests that stretched from diverse locales. The siege of the freedom riders the new york times. The people who had bombed the bus were blocking it shut. Board of education that overturned plessy marked one of the first major victories of the evergrowing civil rights movement. A bus ride to freedom a on 1 december 1955, rosa parks had just finished work at a department store in montgomery, alabama. Stanley nelson the film chronicles the story behind hundreds of civil rights activists called the freedom riders who challenged the racial. Freedom riders national monument is a new national park unit. Robert kennedy responds to attacks on freedom riders. The freedom rides, and the violent reactions they provoked, bolstered the credibility of the american civil rights movement and called national attention to the violent disregard for the law that was used to enforce.
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. The root the greyhound bus station on south court street in downtown montgomery, ala. When the hobbled bus pulled over, the mob pulled riders. They used two buses for the trip putting into group on the trailway and the other group on the greyhound bus. Watch freedom riders american experience official site. Freedom riders in 1961 there were thirteen freedom riders male and female, black and white, young and old who pilgrimage off on a racial test. It wasnt until the sixth bus, bus number 148 that the palestinian freedom rides. Person is looking forward to 50th anniversary commemorations of the first freedom ride in chicago and mississippi, and plans to participate in the 2011 student freedom ride, a 10day bus trip with 40 students and original freedom riders that will leave washington may 6.
Along with shiny boots and silly haircuts, provocation has long been the purview of the democratically disinclined, be it via social media rants or public displays of intimidation. What it was like for a freedom rider whose bus was firebombed. A term used by southerners to refer to a northern who came south during reconstruction to make money. The 58,000squarefoot museum features a rendition of a 1950s segregated city, a replica of a freedom riders bus and the actual door from the jail. Freedom riders bus bombing exhibit at the national civil. Momentum is growing to construct a suitable memorial at the siteone of the most iconic locations in the struggle to end segregationbefore. Follow the path of the freedom riders in this interactive. Freedom riders is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six. 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.
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. When the bus arrived in birmingham, it was attacked by a mob of kkk members aided and abetted by police. To download a pdf of this guide free of charge, please visit. Genevieve hughes haughton and hank thomas are two of the surviving freedom riders who were on the bus that was bombed in alabama. The bus burned and the riders inside barely escaped. These trips were organized by the congress of racial equality core and modeled on the organizations 1947 journey of reconciliation.
His presence wasnt in evidence when those buses carrying freedom riders rolled into annistons greyhound and trailways bus terminals. But when the bus reaches the montgomery city limits the highway patrol suddenly disappears from both buses. Aug 17, 2011 the bus burned and the riders inside barely escaped. He knew the risks hed face, since freedom riders had already been brutally attacked during sunday bus rides on may 14 in birmingham and.
Oxford police chief bill partridge marchers and police officers gather at freedom riders national monument in anniston, ala. Our current trash fire of a national discourse proves that. When the freedom riders step off the bus, hundreds of klansmen attack them. James peck, seated on a hospital gurney in birmingham. 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. 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. As they struggled to get out of the bus, the group was beaten. The original group of freedom riders seven african americans and six whitesleft washington, d. 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. Mar, 2014 the freedom riders, many of whom were students, attempted to travel from washington, d. On greyhound with the freedom riders the washington post.
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. They came to be known from the outset as the freedom riders. Full online access to this resource is only available at the library of congress. Freedom rider joan trumpauer mulholland plans to share her scrapbook from 1961 with student riders on the bus trip. Today the burned greyhound bus is on display at alabamas birmingham civil rights institute. There were a lot of people at the bus stop that evening, so rosa did some shopping, then caught the next bus home. Ct may 10, 2016 freedom riders exit bus firebombed in anniston, alabama. 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. Jan 17, 2020 in 1963, the church was bombed, killing four young girls. The bus firebomb made freedom rider hank thomas stronger. Their plan was to reach new orleans, louisiana, on may.
Claude agreed that we should be on the bus, and we sat down just a couple of seats in back of the driver. On may 14, at the trailways bus terminal in birmingham, the other group of core freedom riders are greeted by a hostile mob. The heinous 1961 kkk attack on the freedom riders youtube. Due to the last freedom ride the bus company would not. When the second bus arrived in birmingham, passengers were brutally attacked by another klan mob. May 03, 2010 the violence scared the drivers and grey hound was wary of losing another bus but after higher power intervention the trip was resumed. Watch freedom riders american experience official site pbs. The freedom riders of 1961 in 1961, the freedom riders set out for the deep south to defy jim crow laws and call for change. A historical marker details the bombing of a bus carrying freedom riders in anniston, ala. May 20, 2011 the next evening, the freedom riders and 1,500 other people gathered at the first baptist church on ripley street, in downtown montgomery. The 1961 freedom rides challenged a racially segregated society by openly defying its customs, riding in interracial groups on interstate buses going south and desegregating the stations facilities. The freedom riders, then and now history smithsonian.
The alabama city is also home to the birmingham civil rights institute. Ct may 10, 2016 freedom riders exit bus firebombed in. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. They and riders on another bus were attacked by men armed with clubs, bricks, iron pipes, and knives. Although the freedom riders subscribed to nonviolence, their first bus was fire bombed by whites in anniston, ala. College students retrace 1961 freedom ride nbc news. Janie was just 12 years old when the freedom riders bus was firebombed in front of her familys alabama grocery store. The next evening, the freedom riders and 1,500 other people gathered at the first baptist church on ripley street, in downtown montgomery. A group of freedom riders are met by an angry mob of whites outside of anniston, alabama where the bus is fire bombed. A merican fascists are unfortunately good at getting peoples attention.
Supreme court to outlaw segregation in public transportation. Virginia 1960, which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. The may 1961 assaults, carried out by a mob of white protesters who confronted the civil rights activists, shocked the. Feb 15, 2017 civil rights activists known as freedom riders sit at a bus station in birmingham, alabama, in may 1961. 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 freedom riders, then and now history smithsonian magazine. 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. Shortly after, when the buses reached birmingham the freedom riders were attacked by a large mob of white men only two blocks from the sheriffs office. When the bus finally left the station, there were more reporters on board than freedom riders. The original group of freedom ridersseven african americans and six whitesleft washington, d.
Mar 22, 2006 in anniston, the original bus carrying the freedom riders was fire bombed. Photos of american nazis driving a hate bus through the. She had a job as a seamstress there, and was making her way home to help with a naacp youth meeting. The fire bombed bus at anniston, alabama produced thick smoke that filled the cabin, choking escaping riders. It was the site of a violent attack on participants in the 1961 freedom ride during the civil rights movement. Fifty years later, hank, who was 19 years old when he signed on to be a freedom rider, still remembers that day. The freedom riders, then and now the decision in brown v. On may 20, 1961, the freedom riders were attacked by a local mob at the montgomery greyhound bus station in montgomery, alabama. The southern states had ignored the rulings and the.
Federal surveyors could determine this summer if the site where a mob fire bombed a bus carrying civil rights. Site of freedom riders bus burning to be considered for. At first, genevieve hughes, seated only a few feet away from the explosion, thought the bombthrower was just trying to scare the freedom riders. Ahead of the riders arrival, bull connors police department has struck a deal with the ku klux klan. Freedom riders on may 4, 1961, two small groups, one of which included alabama native and future u. The first wave of freedom riders left baltimore and traveled through the south and got as far as anniston, alabama, where on a tragic sunday afternoon, the buses they were riding were stopped in the middle of the highway. 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. Thomas remembers the smoke from the firebomb going into his lungs 55 years ago near anniston. The bus goes south towards montgomery escorted by alabama highway patrol cars. At 11 minutes after seven, the convoy started to move. Whilst they were waiting for a bus to stop, an iof military jeep came to the location of the freedom riders. The bus passengers assaulted that day were freedom riders, among the first of more than 400 volunteers who traveled throughout the south on regularly scheduled buses for seven months in 1961 to. The violence scared the drivers and grey hound was wary of losing another bus but after higher power intervention the trip was resumed. The door burst open, and people just spilled out into the yard.
Plan your visit freedom riders national monument u. In 1961, the newly created american nazi party devised a timely vehicle for. On greyhound with the freedom riders washington post. The comparison to the freedom riders of 1960s america seemed to capture the imagination as dozens of journalists gathered to see the small.
1094 1342 545 590 1314 355 1125 1571 35 82 733 434 837 669 199 1341 159 766 1647 1145 1328 24 136 1415 613 225 478 1171 1197 228 145