Freedom Rides - May 4th, 1964 Max Ranney

DHS US History II

Over the course of the Civil Rights movement there were many events that lead to the eventual improvement of civil rights. However, one event that is seen as a breaking point for the movement were the “Freedom Rides” that took place on May 4th 1964. The plan was for the group to leave Washington D.C. on a Greyhound bus set to arrive in New Orleans, Louisiana so that they could show supports for the Brown v. Board of Education trial that was currently taking place. These rides were a way to show the world what kind of discrimination that African American and many different races had to endure as they were attempting to go through their typical day. These rides were an attempt to create improvement in how different races were treated. One of the desired effects of these rides was to draw attention to the violations of the Supreme Court ruling that had been set earlier. They did these rides in a public fashion so that they would be able to generate attention within media outlets and hopefully create friction between the government and the people to create change. As defined by “Holt The American Nation Full Volume” the Freedom riders were “A group of civil rights workers who took bus trips through southern states in 1961 to protest illegal bus segregation.” However, they were much more than just a group of Civil Rights workers. These were people who were actively attempting to make a difference even if they had to endure mental and physical pain along the way. These people were a part of CORE (or the Congress of Racial Equality), which meant that they had a large role in changing the way that certain races were being treated. But, not all of these thirteen protesters were of African American descent, seven were African American and six were white American according to an article created by History.com, this meant that at this point in time there was a strong backing for the improvement of civil rights by all races, including John F. Kennedy who supported the rides, but did not want them to end with violence between the people. Which is precisely the opposite of what the rides ended with. According to an article from NPR on May 14th 1961 the bus arrived in Anniston, Alabama shortly after arriving the bus was greeted with around 200 angry white supremacists. While this crowd was expected, a bomb was thrown under the bus and the riders escaped as it was exploding into flames. The group was then brutally beaten using a variety of weapons including metal pipes. They were then transferred onto another bus that was driven to Birmingham, Alabama. Once they arrived they were again brutally beaten. After this incident Greyhound gave up on the group and would no longer transport them. However, due to the impact that this ride was having an activist from the SNCC (The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) was able to get a group of 10 students from Nashville Tennessee to continue the ride. With all of this pressure on the government from this movement John F. Kennedy secured a driver and bus and sent the riders off from Birmingham, Alabama on May 20th under police escort. However, soon after departing the station the police departed from the bus due to the huge crowds of white supremacist’s rioting around the bus and police escorts. This process continued as they went through Montgomery, Alabama. It was finally put to an end when they reached Jackson, Alabama and they were greeted with hundred of supporters. This that they did the same and these rides happened for several months until change finally came inspired so many people