...Christina Glenn Sociology 10:15 Mary Hewitt Extra Credit Freedom Riders Extra Credit On May 4, 1961 a group of seven blacks, and six whites from the group C.O.R.E. (Congress of Racial Equality) boarded two buses in Washington DC. They planned to travel to New Orleans, Louisiana with the intentions of testing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Boynton v. Virginia which declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional. The riders were a peaceful, loving group of people wanting to bring justice and freedom to the South. Initially, the riders encountered minor hostility. However, the deeper south they travelled, they were met with hostility. The police chief of Birmingham, Bull Connor saw the Freedom Ride as a challenge to his authority in the city. He ordered his officers to look the other way, while one bus of riders was severely beaten and the other bus was burned after being attacked by several dozen whites. Eventually, with the intervention of the U.S. Justice Department, most of CORE's Freedom Riders were evacuated from Birmingham, Alabama to New Orleans. The freedom riders played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement. While Rosa Parks may have initiated equal rights back in 1955, the freedom riders took it to the next level. They brought racism in the United States to the attention of the entire world. When news of The Freedom Riders stories hit the newspapers, and airway, it showed other countries the injustices that were put on African-American...
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...BBB Period N 18 March 2013 Freedom Riders Backlash The Freedom Riders strive through a journey of hardships to have their point accepted by others, which was bus desegregation. Through the journey the Freedom Rides took some obstacles that affected them physically and mentally. They fought threw times like the downfalls that their movement brought and the mobs that greeted them in every state. The mobs were verbally and physically violent towards the Freedom Riders more than a few times while their movement went on. The Freedom Riders went through a devastating downfall through their movement. In May of 1961, the Greyhound carried the Freedom Riders into South Carolina where, like Carson’s article “SNCC” describes, “…John Lewis was the first to be hit as he approached the white waiting room” (SNCC 1). This was a downfall because they were trapped and injured, not being able to move on in their movement. The “MLKJ Research and Education Institute” stated that, “[…] from the attack of Lewis and another rider, the arrest of one participant attracted media coverage.” (MLKJ 1). Their arrival in South Carolina brought an impact on their movement; it began to be shown from each state. As the Freedom Riders rode into Alabama, a furious mob crowded the Greyhound bus and sent it into flames without care for the people inside. The mob surrounded the bus and locked them inside. In Carmichael Stokleys “Freedom Riders”, she states that the Freedom Riders continued to fight for their...
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...A Freedom Rider De’Shunda L. Davis-Brown HIS/145 The American Experience Since 1945 December 15, 2014 Instructor: James Green Looking back to 1960 and 1961, I am reminded of a time of fear, despair, inequality as well as accomplishment. Being an African American was hard during those times, but, as an activist and active part of the change seen today in 2014, I am proud to say I was a tremendous part of the Civil Rights Movement. Patterned after a 1947 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) project known as the Journey of Reconciliation, the Freedom Rides began in early May with a single group of thirteen Riders recruited and trained by CORE’s national staff. We were a diverse group of volunteers, black and white, young and old, male and female, secular and religious, Northerners and Southerners (Arsenault, 2006). In 1960, the US Supreme Court expanded upon previous rulings and declared segregation in bus terminals, waiting rooms, restaurants, restrooms, and other interstate travel facilities unconstitutional. A year later, SNCC joined forces with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in an effort to test the will of local and federal officials to enforce the new legal decisions. Black and white “Freedom Riders” (as we called ourselves) traveled together on bus rides into the Deep South. During these rides, we challenged the government to protect participants from mobs of Klansmen (members of the Ku Klux Klan) and violent segregationists. In 1961 CORE undertook a new...
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...Diary of a Freedom Rider Headed to New Orleans In 1960 Diary of a Freedom Rider leaving Washington headed to New Orleans and what they had to endure during this very difficult and violent time, even though a law had been passed prohibiting segregation. In the spring of 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sponsored “freedom rides.” Groups of black and white travelers rode through the South deliberately entering segregated bus terminals and restaurants. Local mobs often attacked the “freedom riders. (Moss & Thomas, 2013) The CORE organized a dozen activists who were paired into two interracial sets of Freedom Riders which traveled by Greyhound and Trailways buses traveling from Washington D.C. to New Orleans, Louisiana. The Freedom Riders left Washington on May 4, 1961 and traveled without any problems across Virginia and North Carolina. They began encountering violence for the first time at a bus terminal in Rock Hill, South Carolina, several white males beat black riders whom attempted to use a “whites only” restroom. The Freedom Riders continued their travels and crossed into Georgia without incident. The activists reached Alabama on May 14th and the attacks worsen, a mob met the Greyhound riders in Anniston, rocks were thrown and bus tires were slashed. The bus driver managed to drive the bus a few miles out of town. While the bus was stopped for repair of the tires, white supremacists firebombed the bus which ended that groups Freedom Ride. Freedom...
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...Freedom Riders John Smith HIS/145 September 17, 2014 Freedom Riders Journal entry December 12th 1961: It has been difficult living in the era that we do. Being an African American in Alabama is not the life I had envisioned for myself. The benefit of going to college, which is handed to white people, is often unobtainable for the black person. I have always known I was destined to do something more with my life. The Jim Crowe laws constantly remind me that I am not an equal to those around me. Last year 1960, the Supreme Court ruled that those very laws are illegal. Shortly after those rulings my sister took part in a sit-in at a drug store, which led to that store changing its policy. Later she met Ella Baker an SCLC activist and was invited to a conference at Shaw University in Raleigh in April 1960. That conference led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. That committee took nonviolent actions ever more forward by organizing freedom rides. This was a direct challenge of segregation on interstate busses as the Constitution protected interstate commerce. Inspired by my sister’s actions I have made up my mind to join those people. To stand up and stand out in order to see that discrimination comes to an end. There are some 400 freedom riders putting the Supreme Court ruling to the test. We often go in inter-racial teams from somewhere North in to the Segregated South. Essentially backed by Boynton v. Virginia, (1960) ruling that segregation...
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...Those of us who've been invited to participate in the first reunion on the fortieth anniversary of the Freedom Rides have been asked to write down our memories of the summer of 1961, as one part of an oral history project. Mine won't be typical, but that's alright. None of them will be, for we were a remarkably diverse group, the 300 or so of us who were arrested in Jackson in May-June of that year, convicted of "disturbing the peace", detained at the Hinds County Jail, and transported upstate to the maximum security facility at Parchman State Penitentiary to serve our six month sentences. South Carolina My road to Jackson probably began in December, 1960. Benjy Rosen, my roommate at Middlebury College in Vermont, had agreed to join me on a non-stop run to Florida for the first week of Christmas break. With the savings from a job on an oil rig the previous summer and a great deal of help from my Dad, who was a corporate executive in New York, I'd bought a new Morgan+4, a British racing car. We thought it'd be cool to use it as an airplane - straight to Florida from Vermont in 30 hours, a week in the sun, and back home to New York for Christmas. We got lost, of course, and found ourselves at a small filling station, surrounded by fields, on a back road in South Carolina. It was a two person operation - an older white man in overalls was the owner and watched us from the doorway of the station, and a young black man almost our age pumped the gas. Groggy from the overnight...
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...On February 7, 1967 my journey started on the freedom ride. The events which took place in the past week were the worst experiences of my life. Until now I have not realized how unworthy my existence is to this world. I actually feel like I am nothing, I feel like a nobody I feel so worthless, actually who am I? I just sitting here right now and thinking to myself what has this country changed to. I am basically being treated in the non-human category. I have been discriminated against, been hurt physically, mentally and emotionally for being in my own country and practising my own religion, traditions and beliefs. On the first day on the freedom ride we headed off to Moree, In Moree we decided to address the segregation of the local swimming pool. Firstly we protested out the front of the council chambers. We then to took the Aboriginal children to the pool. The white people were angry and furious they had thought that we would bring diseases and infections by swimming in the same pool as them, but we insisted and we didn’t leave until we fulfilled our satisfactions. But obviously we didn’t enjoy the stay at the pools the white people were calling out offensive names to us and throwing pebbles at us and swearing at us but we had no choice. From my own memory I can just recall the white Australians saying “we don’t want these scary looking animal like creatures around us” I wanted to cry but I had to man up. Such humans like us aboriginals are being compared to animals. This...
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...The Freedom Rides in the U.S were one of the many events that further inspired Indigenous Australian activists and protesters to replicate events of their fellow activists in the U.S in Australia to bring equality to Indigenous Australian. . A major example of this are the Freedom Rides that took place in the segregated Southern States of the U.S that later took place in the rural state of NSW led by Charles Perkin and fellow student Jim Spiglem. He had led many peaceful protests around Australia for a push for recognition and equality for Indigenous Australians. Role of the media was a major one throughout the push for indigenous equality as well as for African Americans especially as the media gave large exposure of the injustices against the African-Americans and the Aborigines. This brought a big opportunity for the Indigenous Australians to surge in their cause for land rights and recognition of their ownership of the land. The freedom rides of the U.S were a enormous factor in bringing a push for activism, equality, recognition and peaceful protest for Indigenous Australians. This thesis will be further backed through the body paragraphs about the 1961 US Freedom Rides, the influence on Australian freedom rides and other peaceful protests and the influence on Aboriginal activism and Recognition. On May 4, 1961, a group of 13 African-American and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Rides, a series of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation...
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...railways was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court”) (Freedom Riders http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAfreedomR.htm). In 1954 there was a similar judgment with inter-state buses. The Deep South kept their segregation policies involving whites sitting in the front of the bus, and blacks sitting closest to the front having to give up their seats to whites. African Americans were punished if they did not abide by the transport segregation policies. They were fined and arrested. Martin Luther King JR helped organize a protest against bus segregation after Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 for not giving up her seat to a white man. This protest involved a bus boycott which involved African Americans not ride any bus unless it was integrated Martin Luther King JRs house was fire bombed he was arrested due to this protest and boycott. Anyone that was involved in this boycott was intimidated and harassed, but none of this stopped the boycott. The Montgomery bus company was forced by the Supreme Court to accept integration on their busses after the 13 month boycott. In 1961 The Congress of Racial Equality formed the Free Rides. The Freedom Riders which consist of black and white volunteers began their journey through the Deep South on May 4th, 1961 stopping at “white” only restaurants. On May 14th one of their buses was fired-bombed and the Freedom Riders were attacked by an angry mob. During the Freedom Riders travel through the South Attorney General Robert Kennedy and...
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...Page 1- The Freedom Riders were a group of 7 African American people and 6 whites that protested against racial segregation. Most of the riders were college students and members of the CORE which stands for Congress of racial Equality. The CORE was founded in the early 1960s which focused on political idea of black national and separatism. Another great organization is the SNCC which stands for Student of Nonviolence Coordinating Committee. The SNCC was founded in April 1960 by young kids that were involved in the sit-ins that were beaten. Page-2 On May 4 1961 the freedom rides started in Washington DC and they also went through Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, New Orleans and Louisiana and through time they improved their numbers by having...
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...the lunch counter issue Congress of Racial Equality organized Freedom rides. These freedom rides challenged segregation in interstate travel and blacks and whites would travel together. How did anti-racist protests change after 1963? In 1963 protest became more courageous. Not only were adults in the black community fighting for their rights but so were their children. The protests began to shift their focus from segregation to targeting the passive actions in government “help.” It seemed It all started with two “freedom rider” buses that never made it to their destination. Riders were severely beaten and the buses were set on fire. However, the police and government did nothing to stop the violence. It was at this point that the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) decided that nonviolent but militant action would be their new practice. They called the Department of Justice to ask for help and protection on their next freedom ride. But the Justice department told them they would not actively help but assured them if anything were to happen they would be there to investigate. Of course the freedom ride was again violently attacked and this time riders were arrested and put in jail; and the news began to spread. In a sad attempt to try and prevent further violence the Attorney General agreed to the arrest of freedom riders so police would protect against mob violence. Of course, the riders did not go to jail easily; they resisted, protested, sang and...
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...Gadson ETH/316 October 17, 2012 Brittany Diggs The Responsibility Project The film viewed is based on the freedom riders. The freedom riders were people who used interstate transportation to oppose the segregation laws in the south. This film showed two different organizational issues. The issues in the film are important, and as a result some of these issues affected the outcome of history. The social pressures of this film impacted the strength of the organized freedom riders and what they desired to accomplish. The outcome of what could happen to people if they participated in this movement affected the organization and their personal decision who got involved. The legal and ethical responsibility of police are both enforced and disregarded in this film. The two organizational issue facing this period were the freedom riders who opposed racism, and the police enforcing the Jim Crow laws and upholding racism. The two organizations had very different views during this movement. The freedom riders cause was clearly stated, and people defending desegregation and equality took action. Segregation during this period, in the south, was highly enforced. The freedom riders used song to communicate and strengthen their spirits. They received mistreatment from authorities because they would not allow their spirits to be broken. The police at this time felt the riders came down to cause trouble. Their organization issue was to stop the desegregation of blacks. They felt anyone who...
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...To obtain justice does one need power, and to obtain power does one need weapons? In the Civil Rights Movement there have been many views on how to change one issue, racial inequality. From groups like the Black Panthers who advocated for the rights to bare arms for self protection, to the Freedom Riders who did not believe violent retaliation in any form. Comparing figureheads such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X show the distinct differences between the two, what may seem like a radical idea to one may not seems so to the other. The contrasting ideas of both nonviolent activists and activists who believe violence is inevitable if not necessary in the Civil Rights Movement, emphasizes the idea that nonviolence is key to one understanding...
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...was born that transformed the nation” (Auerbach, 2005). Some of the organizations that were formed during these times were, the NAACP, SNCC, CORE; who sponsored the freedom rides, Black Panther Party, and so many more. All of these organizations were formed because African Americans were not being treated fairly, they did not have the same rights as whites, and they did not have the same freedoms. By forming the civil rights movement, their end goal was to have racial equality, equal rights, and...
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...Motorcycles do not provide the riders with the outer protection that cars provide; therefore, when one crashes, the results are usually much more serious. Injuries to the head are responsible for the majority of fatalities when dealing with motorcycle crashes many of which could have been prevented had the rider been wearing a helmet. For this reason, some states have adopted the motorcycle helmet law. This law has created a great deal of controversy. One side supports the law and another side argues that the law is unconstitutional and it violates our right to freedom. The motorcycle law to wear helmets should be banned because the helmet impairs the rider’s peripheral vision, impairs the rider’s hearing, and the helmet violates a rider’s freedom of choice. The motorcycle law to wear helmets should be banned because some helmets will affect the rider’s vision. When a motorcyclist wears a helmet, the rider’s peripheral vision can be decreased by the helmet. With losing any part of the riders peripheral vision can be very dangerous for the rider and their passengers. A study done by McKnight, (2007) found that a rider wearing a full faced helmet has to rotate his or her head an additional 18 degrees more, so the rider can be aware of their surroundings. If the rider fails to compensate for wearing the helmet, the rider is putting themself in a higher risk of being involved in an accident. Not only do helmets limit a rider’s vision but they also limit the riders hearing. While riding...
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