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 citizens. Other countries were shocked at how our supposed “free’ country was treating their own citizens The Freedom Riders never made it to New Orleans. Many spent their summer in jail. Some were scarred for life from the beatings they received. Their efforts were not in vain. They forced the Kennedy administration to take a stand on civil rights, which was the intent of the Freedom Ride in the first place. In addition, the Interstate Commerce Commission, at the request of Robert Kennedy, outlawed segregation in interstate bus travel in a ruling, more specific than the original Supreme Court mandate, that took effect in September, 1961. The Freedom Riders may not have finished their trip, but they made an important and lasting contribution to the civil rights movement. The Riders received worldwide recognition. They were able to remain a peaceful group throughout their ordeal. Even while locked up in a chain-gang working prison they would sing and remain positive. In the end more than 430 freedom riders in total rode by plane, bus, and train to Birmingham to stand up for civil rights. Men, Women, Whites and Blacks gathered together and stood up for equal rights. Many religions put their differences aside, and stood up for the African American race. While it was a time of violence and hate in the South the Freedom Riders put their faith in God and each other to uphold laws and form new ones. I learned so much from this video. While I had heard of The Freedom Riders, I didn’t know the full extent of the story. I had no idea that Dr. Martin Luther King abandoned the riders during this. He refused to get on the bus after being asked multiple times to join the freedom riders. One man said that Dr. King had “feet of clay.” Dr. King only stepped in with his support once Robert Kennedy reached out to him. Dr. King was such an integral part of the civil rights movement that it shocked me how he watched and waited. There is so much more to say, however, I am limited to just one page!