African American History 5

Freedom Rides (1961)

🗓 Began May 4, 1961
📍From Washington, D.C. → South → Goal: New Orleans
📌 Interracial groups tested Supreme Court rulings that banned segregation on interstate buses and terminals (Boynton v. Virginia).
🚌 Organized by CORE, joined by SNCC and Nashville Student Movement after initial violence.
💥 Riders were beaten, buses firebombed in Anniston and Birmingham.
🚔 Arrests followed in Jackson, Mississippi → Riders sent to Parchman Penitentiary.
🎯 Aim: force the federal government to enforce its own laws.

Journey of Reconciliation (1947)

🗓 April 1947
📍Upper South (Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky)
📌 First Freedom Ride, organized by CORE and Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR).
👥 16 activists (Black and white men) tested a 1946 Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation on interstate travel (Morgan v. Virginia).
📣 Several participants were arrested; laid groundwork for later rides.

James Farmer Jr.

🗓 1920–1999
📌 National Director of CORE and key strategist of the Freedom Rides.
🗣 “We had to make it more dangerous politically for the government not to enforce federal law…”
👥 Carefully selected Riders to avoid media smear: interracial, cross-generational, many clergy.

Boynton v. Virginia (1960)

🗓 Decided December 5, 1960
⚖ Supreme Court extended Morgan v. Virginia — outlawed segregation not just on buses, but in bus terminals, restaurants, and waiting rooms tied to interstate travel.
🎯 Legal foundation of the 1961 Freedom Rides.

Freedom Ride Route & Violence

🚌 May 4–17, 1961

• Riders departed Washington, D.C., targeting New Orleans

• Faced mild harassment in Carolinas and Georgia

• 💥 May 14: Bus firebombed in Anniston, Alabama

• 💥 May 14: Riders beaten in Birmingham
  📞 After violence, CORE paused the ride; Nashville SNCC activists stepped in to continue.
  📚 Source: Escalation that pulled national attention

Nashville Student Movement & SNCC Take Over

🗓 May 17, 1961
📌 After original Riders were attacked, Nashville Student Movement (Diane Nash, John Lewis, et al.) and SNCC sent 10 new Riders.
📍 They were arrested in Birmingham, then dropped at state line, returned, and continued the ride.

Anniston Firebombing (May 14, 1961)

🚌 Greyhound bus carrying Freedom Riders was surrounded by a mob and firebombed outside Anniston, Alabama.
📸 Photos of the burned bus became national headlines.

Montgomery Attack (May 20, 1961)

📍Arrived from Birmingham to Montgomery
👥 Riders met by a mob of 200–300 people at the terminal and badly beaten.
📣 A mass meeting followed at Ralph Abernathy’s First Baptist Church on May 22, protected by U.S. Marshals.

Jackson, Mississippi Arrests (May 24, 1961)

📌 27 new Riders continued to Jackson, where they were arrested for violating segregation laws.
🚨 Many Riders were sentenced to Parchman Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison.
🎯 Over the summer, 300+ more Riders joined to pressure federal enforcement.

Parchman Penitentiary

📍Mississippi
🚔 Maximum-security prison where Riders were held in brutal conditions — isolation, intimidation, and forced labor.
📣 Despite this, Freedom Riders continued arriving throughout the summer.

Gov. John Patterson (Alabama)

🗓 1961
📌 Governor during the Freedom Rides; initially refused to protect Riders.
📞 After Kennedy Administration intervened, he promised law enforcement support on the route to Montgomery.

Diane Nash (Freedom Ride Organizer)

📌 After violence halted CORE’s original ride, Nash immediately organized replacement Riders from Nashville.
🗣 "We can’t let violence stop us."
💥 Her leadership ensured the Freedom Ride movement didn’t die in Alabama.

John Lewis (Freedom Rider)

🗓 May 1961
📌 Participated in the original Freedom Rides.
🚨 Arrested in Jackson, Mississippi → photographed by Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission.