"At our first stop in Virginia . . . I [was] confronted with what the Southern white has called `separate but equal.' A modern rest station with gleaming counters and picture windows was labelled `White,' and a small wooden shack beside it was tagged `Colored.'"Freedom Rider William Mahoney
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Freedom ridersIn 1961 a group of 13 individuals began a campaign aimed at the desegregation of the public transportation in the southern United States. These individuals were called the Freedom Riders. Beginning in Washington, DC, the group started their 20-day journey to fight against the Jim Crow Laws. The “segregation and disenfranchisement laws” known as the Jim Crow Laws, affected African Americans in many aspects of their lives, including “segregation of schools, parks, libraries, drinking fountains, restrooms, buses, trains, and restaurants.” (PBS) As the group traveled further south, they began to meet resistance. Some of the riders were arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina. On May 13th, the group met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when they reached Atlanta, Georgia. The next day, upon reaching Alabama, the group split up into two parties. The group that traveled to Anniston was greeted by a mob of around “200 angry people” who stoned and slashed the tires of the group’s bus. Once the bus got away to change their tires to continue on their route, the bus was “firebombed” (PBS). The other group once they reached Birmingham was “severely beaten.” The police force of Birmingham stated that no officers were posted due to a holiday, however it was later discovered that they were aware of the attacks on the riders (Watson). Alabama governor John Patterson was not sympathetic of the group by any means. He states, "When you go somewhere looking for trouble, you usually find it . . .. You just can't guarantee the safety of a fool and that's what these folks are, just fools." The group was forced to complete their journey to New Orleans, Louisiana by plane under the protection of the Kennedy Administration. When they reached Montgomery, the group was barricaded inside a local First Baptist Church by “an angry mob” (PBS). The Riders never made it to New Orleans, for on their way they were “arrested for their own safety” (Watson). The Freedom Riders may have not finished their journey, but their effort are to be remembered for much of history as a major contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. The major lesson learned from the Freedom Riders, according to Raymond Arsenault, was “the ability of ordinary citizens to affect public policy (PBS). The Freedom Riders brought together many different kinds of people. People of different “race, religions, cultures, and economic backgrounds” were all fighting to make life better for one group, in turn, making life better for all (PBS).
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