Freedom Riders - May 4, 1961 - 50 Years Later

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first Freedom Ride. It was a bus ride that left Washington, D.C. on May 4, 1961, and was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on May 17, 1961, for a commemorative rally. The Freedom Riders were young civil rights activists who wanted to ensure equality met them at every stop from North to South. Jim Crow laws had been renounced by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in the landmark case Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company (1955) which banned the "separate but equal" laws in regard to interstate bus travel. This meant that restaurants, waiting rooms, and restrooms in bus terminals could not enforce racial segregation on interstate buses and routes...ensuring consistency in laws from North to South for travelers of all races. Five years later, in 1960, in the case Boynton v. Virginia, the Supreme Court decided that racial segregation on ALL of the various forms of public transportation was illegal under the Interstate Commerce Act. Discrimination and segregation was forbidden in interstate passenger transportation. So, the following year, these rulings were put to the test to see if they were being enforced throughout the country.

A bloody John Lewis

The first Freedom Ride bus took a route through Virgina, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to get to New Orleans. There were 13 riders--7 Black, 6 White. Several were arrested in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Mississippi. One of the 7 Black riders was 21-year-old John Lewis (now a U.S. Representative for Georgia's 5th District). In South Carolina, he encountered his first of several beatings to come over the course of the Movement.

On Mother's Day, May 14, 1961, several KKK police officials in Alabama, organized attacks on the buses. When the Greyhound bus rolled into Anniston, a mob--some still in their church attire--attacked the first bus. They slashed the tires, forcing the bus to stop. They then threw a firebomb into the bus and held the doors shut to burn the passengers alive. When the gas tank exploded in the rear of the bus, the mob scattered, allowing the passengers to exit the bus. They were beaten upon exit as they gasped for air.

Janie Forsyth

One 12-year-old White girl, Janie Forsyth, whose father owned a nearby store went out to give the helpless passengers water, one-by-one. The riders were refused care at the hospital and were forced to leave the hospital at 2am because another mob was forming at the hospital.


When the second bus arrived in Anniston an hour later, 8 Klansmen boarded, beat the riders, and left them semi-conscious in the back of the bus. When that bus made it to Birmingham, the KKK and police attacked and beat the riders with baseball bats, bicycle chains, and iron pipes. U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent Justice Department official John Seigenthaler to take control of the chaos. Kennedy also arranged escorts to get the riders into Montgomery safely.

 However, radio reports told of mobs waiting for the riders and Greyhound drivers refused to drive those buses. The Freedom Riders chose to fly so that they would not miss the rally in New Orleans.


More violence ensued in Montgomery, including the beating of John Seigenthaler, which left him unconscious.

Diane Nash, 23, had taken over leading Freedom Rides from Birmingham, Alabama, to Jackson, Mississippi. John Seigenthaler begged Nash to end the rides because by continuing them, she was going to get people killed. Her response was, "We know someone will be killed, but we cannot let violence overcome nonviolence." After a pause, she let him know that they had all signed their last will and testament before they boarded the buses.

The next buses made the journey from Montgomery to Jackson with Highway Patrol and National Guard. When they attempted to use "white-only" facilities they were arrested and jailed. So, the Freedom Riders organized rides to Jackson to fill the jails.

Jackson's jail was filled, Hinds County's jail was filled, then Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm) was beginning to fill. The riders were housed in the Death Row unit, given only underwear, no mail, no exercise, etc. The Freedom Riders would sing peacefully through it all. One song in particular, "Hallelujah, I'm a-Traveling" was their anthem. When they would sing, their mattresses, sheets, toothbrushes, and window screens were taken so that mosquitoes could bite them. The guards would hose the riders with pesticides at 2am. More than 300 people were arrested and jailed in Jackson alone.

Robert Kennedy sent the ICC a petition to comply and enforce their own ruling. On November 1, 1961, "white" and "colored" signs in terminals came down and all separate facilities were consolidated. Over 450 people participated in at least one Freedom Ride. About 75% were male and about 50% were White. About 75% were under the age of 30...some were merely teenagers-- 18 & 19 years old...

This brings me to my main purpose for this post. Of course I wanted to celebrate the courageous actions taken by uncompromising, organized, and strong young men and women some 50 years ago...but I want to for a moment compare those young men and women to men and women of today. How many 19 year old Black men would board a bus knowing that they would surely be beaten and possibly killed for simply exercising their legal freedom? How many 23 year old Black women would continue to lead a movement for equality when the U.S. Attorney General is demanding that she stop? What did those young men and women possess in 1961 that is missing in generations today? My theory is that it's not what they had that drove them, it's what they didn't have. Perhaps today's generations are given too much.

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From May 6- May 16, 40 college students will join some of the original Freedom Riders to retrace the steps of the journey from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans.



 A great read that I am recommending is Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice.







On Monday, May 16, 2011, PBS will air "Freedom Riders" a powerful documentary by Stanley Nelson.

---------------- (from nola.com)
50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Freedom Riders (Ashe Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha C. Haley Blvd.) Ashe is the destination for the 2011 Student Freedom Ride, which has retraced the original route of the historic 1961 Civil Rights bus ride that never made it to New Orleans. Outdoor street festival to await the bus begins at 5 p.m. Music by The Young Audiences Brass Band, a ceremonial release of doves and a commemorative program with freedom songs led by Michaela Harrison, presentation and special recognitions, 6 p.m. "American Experience: Freedom Riders" executive producer Mark Samels and director Stanley Nelson are scheduled to appear; their PBS documentary, previewed by Dave Walker in Monday's Times-Picayune Living section, airs at 8 p.m. Monday on WYES. Admission: Free.


--As always, my standard is Author. What's yours?