The freedom ride started because on May 4, 1961. Thirteen of the civil right activists that were lead by James Farmer decided to go out into two buses from Washington D.C to New Orleans, Louisiana and all the the other southern states because they enforced separation of races in almost every aspect of public life. Ever since this situation happened other people started to join the freedom riders in order to speed up the process of desegregation.
The Freedom Riders
On May 4th, 1961, thirteen ordinary people rode a bus for twelve days in May to fight for equality on buses in the South.
The Freedom Riders drove from Washington D.C. and were headed for New Orleans but after they got beaten and burned in Alabama, the Freedom Ride stopped.
Even different races were in the rides. Most were college students, they traveled on buses from the North to places in the South. Both white and African American freedom riders sat together on all parts of the buses. At terminals for the buses they ignored signs that told where African Americans had to go.
The first Freedom Ride had only thirteen people participating which they did not know what they are getting themselves into. Some got arrested and some get attacked by Southerners because they felt their way of life was threatened by this civil disobedience.
Freedom riders were people who supported rights for African Americans. The US had segregation laws on buses and terminals in the south. In the buses African Americans were banned from sitting in certain seats. There was also separate places for whites and blacks.
Civil Disobedience was a form of peaceful protest. It was when people refused to follow certain laws and pay certain taxes and fines.
White riders sat on the back of the bus, and black riders on the front, which went against the Southern law. Once at the terminal, white Freedom Riders stayed in the "black" waiting room, while blacks attempted to use the facilities in the "white" waiting room.
The rides didn't go without answer however. People who supported segregation gathered in angry mobs and some even threw rocks at the buses. When the riders got off their ride many of them were injured by the crowds or authorities. Hundreds were jailed. Even one bus going to New Orleans was attacked and burned in Alabama.
The two people that were involved with this issue was James Farmer and JFK James wanted to help speed up the process of desegregation while JFK was responsible to take action to uphold the law. Also the other 2 that had opposing viewpoints was the KKK and the freedom riders. The freedom riders were trying to stop segregation with protests and buses while the KKK took fire and burned the buses and held the angry protesters held captive inside the buss while it was going into flames. This political cartoon is showing how JFK was responsible for taking action on the freedom riders ,but he wasn't really doing anything and was not really to concerned about it.
Many segregationists attacked the freedom riders. For example, Jim Zwerg, a white freedom rider from Madison, Wisconsin, left the bus first and was immediately pummeled with lead pipes, bricks, and bats. Many other riders were savagely beaten as the police did nothing to intervene.
The bus in Alabama, attacked by segregationists.
People sitting next to the burned bus.
When the bus was nearing Anniston, Alabama, a mob firebombed the bus and blocked the exits in an attempt to suffocate the protesters. Twelve riders were hospitalized. Meanwhile, in Birmingham the second bus was met by a mob of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members. Since several members were savagely beaten after both attacks Greyhound bus drivers refused to transport the riders, so they abandoned their efforts and boarded a plane to New Orleans.
Speech By President John F. Kennedy
THE SITUATION which has developed in Alabama is a source of the deepest concern to me as it must be to the vast majority of the citizens of Alabama and other Americans. I have instructed the Justice Department to take all necessary steps based on their investigations and information. I call upon the Governor and other responsible State officials in Alabama as well as the Mayors of Birmingham and Montgomery to exercise their lawful authority to prevent any further outbreaks of violence. I would also hope that any persons, whether a citizen of Alabama or a visitor there, would refrain from any action which would in any way tend to provoke further outbreaks. I hope that state and local officials in Alabama will meet their responsibilities. The United States Government intends to meet its.
This political cartoon is about segregation and how African Americans were not allowed to go certain places because of there color. In this picture the African american is using white paint to color up the two younger African Americans dark color, so they can go in the swimming pool (that says whites only). This shows that African Americans were being segregated from places that only whites could go in and it was not fair to them.
James Lawson is part of an organization called the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). He saw Nash's hometown as a place to test the nonviolent sit-in. People were arrested and taken to jail for disorderly conduct. Diane Nash was impressed with the nonviolent sit-ins effectiveness. She helped him with the sit-ins and nonviolent protests.
The riders went through with their sentence and eventually got released. Many Americans sympathetic to the freedom of African Americans continued to engage in acts throughout 1961. Eventually the segregation laws were lifted on buses and it's terminals.