Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions Morgan v. Virginia (1946) and Boynton v. Virginia (1960), which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional.[3] The Southern states had ignored the rulings and the federal government did nothing to enforce them. The first Freedom Ride left Washington, D.C., on May 4, 1961,[4] and was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on May 17.[5]
"Freedom ride" redirects here. For the Australian Freedom Ride, see Freedom Ride (Australia).Freedom Riders
May 4 – December 10, 1961
(7 months and 6 days)
- Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
- Racial segregation in interstate and intrastate transportation and public accommodations
- Failed compliance with ruling Morgan v. Virginia (1946)
- Journey of Reconciliation in 1947
- Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company (1955)
- Ongoing boycott and sit-in demonstrations in the south
- Boynton v. Virginia (1960)
- 436 individuals participated in at least 60 separate Freedom Rides[1][2]
- First time "jail, no bail" tactic employed on large scale since the Nashville sit-ins
- Desegregation order from Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
- Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) recognized as a serious civil rights organization
- Creation of Route 40 campaign, Eastern Shore project, and Freedom Highways campaign
- Voter Education Project established
Boynton outlawed racial segregation in the restaurants and waiting rooms in terminals serving buses that crossed state lines.[6] Five years prior to the Boynton ruling, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had issued a ruling in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company (1955) that had explicitly denounced the Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) doctrine of separate but equal in interstate bus travel. The ICC failed to enforce its ruling, and Jim Crow travel laws remained in force throughout the South.
The Freedom Riders challenged this status quo by riding interstate buses in the South in mixed racial groups to challenge local laws or customs that enforced segregation in seating. The Freedom Rides, and the violent reactions they provoked, bolstered the credibility of the American Civil Rights Movement. They called national attention to the disregard for the federal law and the local violence used to enforce segregation in the southern United States. Police arrested riders for trespassing, unlawful assembly, violating state and local Jim Crow laws, and other alleged offenses, but often they first let white mobs attack them without intervention.
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sponsored most of the subsequent Freedom Rides, but some were also organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The Freedom Rides, beginning in 1961, followed dramatic sit-ins against segregated lunch counters conducted by students and youth throughout the South, and boycotts of retail establishments that maintained segregated facilities.
The Supreme Court's decision in Boynton supported the right of interstate travelers to disregard local segregation ordinances. Southern local and state police considered the actions of the Freedom Riders to be criminal and arrested them in some locations. In some localities, such as Birmingham, Alabama, the police cooperated with Ku Klux Klan chapters and other white people opposing the actions, and allowed mobs to attack the riders.
History[edit]
Prelude[edit]
The Freedom Riders were inspired by the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, led by Bayard Rustin and George Houser and co-sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the then-fledgling Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Like the Freedom Rides of 1961, the Journey of Reconciliation was intended to test an earlier Supreme Court ruling that banned racial discrimination in interstate travel. Rustin, Igal Roodenko, Joe Felmet and Andrew Johnnson, were arrested and sentenced to serve on a chain gang in North Carolina for violating local Jim Crow laws regarding segregated seating on public transportation.[7]
The first Freedom Ride began on May 4, 1961. Led by CORE Director James Farmer, 13 young riders (seven black, six white, including but not limited to John Lewis (21), Genevieve Hughes (28), Mae Frances Moultrie, Joseph Perkins, Charles Person (18), Ivor Moore,[8] William E. Harbour (19), Joan Trumpauer Mullholland (19), and Ed Blankenheim),[9] left Washington, DC, on Greyhound (from the Greyhound Terminal) and Trailways buses. Their plan was to ride through Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, ending in New Orleans, Louisiana, where a civil rights rally was planned. Many of the Riders were sponsored by CORE and SNCC with 75% of the Riders between 18 and 30 years old. A diverse group of volunteers came from 39 states, and were from different economic classes and racial backgrounds.[10] Most were college students and received training in nonviolent tactics.[11]
The Freedom Riders' tactics for their journey were to have at least one interracial pair sitting in adjoining seats, and at least one black rider sitting up front, where seats under segregation had been reserved for white customers by local custom throughout the South. The rest of the team would sit scattered throughout the rest of the bus. One rider would abide by the South's segregation rules in order to avoid arrest and to contact CORE and arrange bail for those who were arrested.
Only minor trouble was encountered in Virginia and North Carolina, but John Lewis was attacked in Rock Hill, South Carolina. More than 300 Riders were arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina; Winnsboro, South Carolina; and Jackson, Mississippi.[10]
Lives as Freedom Riders[edit]
The Freedom Rides were mostly focused on events that occurred during the spring and summer of 1961. However, the idea of an interracial bus ride through the South, at a time when racial segregation was mandated in public transportation, originated in 1947. Bayard Rustin and George Houser, who were part of a civil rights organization called the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), came up with a plan to test whether southern long-distance buses were following a 1946 Supreme Court ruling that prohibited segregation on interstate travel.[12]
"Yet the Freedom Rides, in plural, was just the beginning. The Alabama attacks, coupled with the Mississippi arrests, inspired multiple small bands of civil rights supporters from all over the continental United States to head southward too."explains Arsenault.[12]
The riders in 1961 successfully completed their journey through Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. However, they encountered violent and horrific situations in Alabama. A white segregationist mob attacked and burned one of the two buses they were traveling in outside Anniston. The second group of riders faced violence from Ku Klux Klansmen in Birmingham, while the city police deliberately held back.[12]
The Freedom Rides had two important outcomes. Firstly, due to the pressure from Robert Kennedy's Justice Department, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which had regulatory power over interstate buses and terminals, declared an end to racial segregation in all waiting rooms and lunch counters, effective from November 1, 1961. Although not everyone immediately followed this rule, Arsenault points out that this directive sent a clear message to southern whites that desegregation of other institutions was likely to happen soon.[13]
Cultural depictions[edit]
The 1980s PBS documentary series Eyes on the Prize had an episode, "Ain't Scared of Your Jails: 1960-1961", that gave attention to the Freedom Riders. It included an interview with James Farmer.[147]
The title of the 2007 film Freedom Writers is an explicit pun on the Freedom Riders, a fact made clear in the film itself, which references the campaign.
PBS in 2012 broadcast Freedom Riders as part of its American Experience series. It included interviews and news footage from the Freedom Riders movement.[148]
Dan Shore's 2013 opera Freedom Ride, set in New Orleans, celebrates the Freedom Riders.[149]
The Boondocks aired a 2014 episode about the Freedom Rides with the title "Freedom Ride or Die".
The Freedom Riders: The Civil Rights Musical is a theater musical retelling the story of the Freedom Rides.[150] The musical was created by Los Angeles screenwriter/director Richard Allen, and San Diego native music artist Taran Gray. Richard and Taran finalized the music in March 2016, and by April of the same year were asked to perform excerpts from their musical as a BETA Event at the New York Musical Festival (NYMF).[151] The FREEDOM RIDERS musical received NYMF's inaugural BETA Event Award,[152] and is scheduled to return to New York, summer of 2017, for an Off-Broadway run as part of NYMF's festival.[153]