The 1961 Freedom Riders' fight against segregation in America

In 1946, the Supreme Court’s Morgan v. Virginia court decision ruled that segregated interstate bus travel was unconstitutional.

However, this decision was not enforced, and segregated travel continued unabated.

Following the arrest of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott occurred in 1955-1956. 

This successful boycott, which was led by Martin Luther King Jr, resulted in the desegregation of Montgomery’s bus system. 

Then, in 1960, another Supreme Court decision, called Boynton v. Virginia found that segregation in interstate bus terminals was also unconstitutional.

This decision should have put an end to segregated travel, but again, it was not enforced. 

This created a problem for the civil rights movement because it now had to find a way to challenge segregation laws without breaking any laws.

The solution was the Freedom Rides. 

Activists from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) decided to test the new law by riding buses through the American South.

They would start in Washington, D.C., and ride through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

The Freedom Riders would use both 'white' and 'colored' restrooms and lunch counters at bus terminals along the way. 

The Freedom Rides began on the 4th of May 1961, when 13 protestors, 7 black and 6 whites, boarded two Greyhound buses in Washington D.C.

They intended to arrive in New Orleans on May 17 to celebrate the anniversary of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education court ruling that found that segregated public schools were unconstitutional.

The start of the journey was relatively uneventful. They faced no problems as they drove through the states of Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.

The first negative experience occurred on the 12th of May when they had stopped at a Greyhound bus terminal at Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Three of the riders were attacked for attempting to use the “whites only” restroom. 

Despite the violence, they continued on.

The Freedom Riders arrived in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 13, 1961. They traveled from Augusta, Georgia, where they had been courteously served at terminal lunch counters.

Upon reaching Atlanta, they were greeted by cheering supporters, including many students and veterans of the city's sit-in movement.

That evening, they dined with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who praised their courage and commitment to nonviolent protest.

However, King privately warned the riders about a potential plot against them in Alabama.

The next day, the two Freedom Rides buses travelled to different cities in Alabama: Anniston and Birmingham.

However, both would face the worst violence yet.

The first group traveled on a Greyhound bus in Anniston, Alabama on May 14th.

They were met with a large crowd of around 200 angry white people at the bus terminal in Anniston.

The crowd was armed with iron bars, clubs, and chains. Fearing for his passengers' safety, the driver chose to drive past the station, but the crowd followed. 

The bus had to stop at a gas station about 6 miles outside of Anniston to change a slashed tire.

The crowd attacked the bus and threw a firebomb inside. The bomb exploded, and the riders had to escape through the windows as the mob outside beat them.

Fortunately, all passengers managed to escape before the bus burst into flames.

Shockingly, this attack had been orchestrated by local Ku Klux Klan members with the complicity of local law enforcement, who did not intervene.

However, photographs of the burning Greyhound bus, which had been taken by journalists who were following the protest, were published on front pages of newspapers around the country.

This drew national and international attention to their cause and created sympathy for their plight.

The second group was on a Trailways bus that arrived in Birmingham later on the same day (14th May).

Upon arrival, they were met by another mob of Klan members who violently attacked them with blunt weapons such as clubs and chains.

This attack was similarly coordinated with the knowledge and support of Birmingham's Police Commissioner, Bull Connor, who ensured that police would not intervene for a set period.

Some of them were hospitalised with serious injuries. Despite the violence, all of the riders were arrested for defying segregation laws and “breaching the peace”. 

The Freedom Riders spent two weeks in jail before the US Attorney General, Robert Kennedy (brother of President John F. Kennedy), negotiated with the Governor of Alabama for their release.

Once freed, Kennedy also arranged for a police escort to protect their bus until they reached the city of Montgomery.

However, after the attacks, CORE had decided to abandon the rest of the rides due to the severity of the violence.

Since many of the original riders were hospitalized or too injured to continue, it was deemed to be the safest option.

However, Diane Nash, who was a prominent leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), decided to organize a new group of riders from Nashville, Tennessee.

The SNCC had been only recently founded in 1960 by mainly of young, college-aged activists who were deeply committed to nonviolent protest and direct action against racial injustice.

Nash famously said that if the federal government allowed violence to stop the Freedom Rides, it would set a dangerous precedent for future civil rights efforts.

Fully aware of the risks facing them, the SNCC activists boarded buses in Birmingham and continue into the South.

On the 20th of May 1961, the SNCC riders, along with other activists, arrived in Montgomery, Alabama.

At the Montgomery bus station, the state troopers left the protestors, as local police were to take over the escort role for freedom riders.

However, the police never arrived. Without protection, the riders were attacked and beaten again.

In response, President Kennedy sent 400 US Marshalls to provide protection for the final stage of their journey.

However, during an altercation with a mob in Montgomery, John Seigenthaler, one of the federal officials sent by Attorney General Robert Kennedy, was knocked unconscious by a mob while trying to assist one of the Freedom Riders.

On the 24th of May 1961, the Freedom Riders arrived in Jackson, Mississippi. They were arrested for attempting to use white facilities and were charged for trespassing. 

Many are sent to the infamous Parchman Prison where they were reportedly treated very harshly, including being placed in maximum-security cells and having their mattresses removed.

At this point, the SNCC decided to use the 'Jail, No Bail' strategy. This was a tactic that was intended to draw national attention to the unfolding situation to put public pressure on the authorities to enforce desegregation.

Finally, on September 22, 1961, after months of protests and pressure from the Freedom Riders, President Kennedy announced that the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had issued orders to enforce desegregation of all interstate buses and bus terminals.

The new ban took effect on the 1st of November 1961, which brought the Freedom Rides to an end. 

Over the course of the Freedom Rides, more than 400 black and white civil rights activists participated in the campaign and helped bring about change by raising awareness of segregation laws in the American South.

They also showed that there was a need for better enforcement of these laws. The courage of the Freedom Riders inspired others to take a stand against segregation and helped pave the way for future civil rights victories.

One of the most famous of the Freedom Riders was John Lewis. He later went on to become a US Congressman and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.