Freedom Rides Essay

Racial segregation in public transportation was now illegal, therefore the Freedom Riders wanted to determine whether this law was being enforced. On May 14th African-American's decided to sit wherever they chose to on the bus. Many white supremacists acted upon this and started throwing

The event that I have chosen is the Freedom Rides, which started May 4, 1961 and ended December 10, 1961. The Freedom Rides were inspired by the Greensboro Sit-ins, and started with 13 African American and Caucasian protestors riding buses into the segregated south to challenge the lack of enforcement to the Supreme Court ruling that segregated buses were unconstitutional. While the activists were peaceful the local law enforcement and people against their message were not. The activists were beaten at several stops along their journey from Anniston to Birmingham with chains, bricks, and bats by Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members in Alabama, and activists that were injured would be refused hospital treatment. Bull Connor, Commissioner of Public Safety

The original 'Freedom Rides' in the American South were a series of student political protests that took the form of bus journeys through the southern states. Student volunteers, both African American and white, rode interstate into the pro-segregationist south, to bring awareness to and fight for person of colours rights. This eventually led to violent protest and hostility that additionally increased public awareness of racism in society through this intensive media coverage. Due to international coverage, protests in support of the Civil Rights movement occurred in Australia as well, supporting the Civil Rights Bill that was being considered by the United States

This movement practiced non-violent methods of civil disobedience against racially discriminatory laws and practices. The Montgomery bus boycott that made it legal for African Americans to sit in the front of the bus. And the 3 people that

The 1960-70’s was the height of the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans were dedicated to gaining liberties which only whites could exercise freely, and did this was done through peaceful as well as violent means of protest. Individuals such as Martin Luther King protested by means of preaching peace and utilizing nonviolent actions against whites while others such as Malcolm x and elijah muhammad resorted to not only violence, yet separatism to protest and show their urge to gain civil Liberties. Though, both methods of protest were aimed towards the same goal, only one was to be influential and bring about the change that African Americans desire.

In the years following the Freedom Rides, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, which prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and helped to lay the groundwork for further progress in the fight for racial justice. The legacy of the Freedom Riders is also remembered and honored through monuments, museums, and events that honor their courage and sacrifices. These efforts serve as a reminder of the ongoing efforts needed to ensure that all people are treated with dignity and respect, and they help to keep alive the memory of a key moment in the civil rights

By the time the freedom riders had begun their efforts, the Supreme Court had twice handed down decisions — first in 1946, in Morgan v. Virginia, and 14 years later in Boynton v. Virginia — declaring segregation on buses and trains traveling between states a violation of interstate commerce laws. But Jim Crow traditions meant an ugly disregard for what was already

Cesar Chavez, labor union organizer and civil rights leader, took the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as an opportunity to remind people about the benefits of nonviolent resistance. Chavez published an article in the magazine of a religious organization devoted to helping those in need. In this article, Chavez shares his views on how nonviolent resistance is more effective than violent resistance. Chavez contracts the outcomes of violence versus nonviolence using an if then format in order to prove nonviolence superior.

Rosa parks, a fierce activist, refused to let a white man take her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. This sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, crusaded mostly by ordinary black maids. In solidarity with the boycott, Black women would walk miles everyday to clean middle class houses. This was most effective during the 1950s because this is when the american dream was formulated. The dichotomy of a country that sold the image of having a nice life in a nice house with a nice job also fostering a suffering people was overwhelmingly blatant.

Freedom Riders The Freedom riders were a group of 13 African American and White civil right activists, the Supreme Court had abolished segregation in 1946 on the interstate buses and terminals, but African Americans in 1961 in the South were obligated to sit in the back of the buses, go to different ticket counters, use different restrooms, and eat at different restaurants (Infobase 1). This made them very irritated and even more determined to put an end to segregation, “in May 1961, CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), under the leadership of James Farmer, decided to send an interracial group of riders on buses starting in the District of Columbia and ending in New Orleans” (Infobase 1). The bus rides were very dangerous and many of the Freedom Riders got hurt. Many states were unaccepting of the Freedom Rides, “at several cities in Mississippi and Alabama, the riders were attacked by white mobs who brutally beat them using chains and baseball bats” (Infobase 2).

Martin Luther King Jr. in his fight for civil rights, then transitions to compare and contrast between violence and nonviolence. With the use of very explicit sentences, he declares that the use of nonviolence is superior and more powerful than its counterpart. While violence leads to “injuries and perhaps death on both sides” and could end in “total demoralization of the workers,” nonviolence “supports … a just and moral cause” and “is of crucial importance to win any contest.” His portrayal of injury and death as a result of the use of violent tactics combined with the wholesomeness of nonviolence encourages the reader to support Chavez’s claim that nonviolence is a superior form of protest. To gain credibility, Chavez establishes the idea that violence is detrimental to everyone involved, regardless of one’s position on civil rights or whether they are the perpetrator or the victim of this violence.

The Freedom Rides was a series of bus rides to the Deep South to protest against segregation laws. They believed that they should test the Supreme Court ruling of Boynton v. Virginia and Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia. These declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional. The South ignored these laws, and the federal government did nothing to stop them.

By alluding to King—a civil rights leader and a strong believer in nonviolence—Chavez shows that nonviolence can be amazingly effective. King led a nonviolent campaign during the civil rights movement geared toward ending segregation and securing equal rights for African Americans. King successfully utilized

The freedom riders proved a point to show the strength of the black race, but caused a divide as the white race became threatened and ---more

Unbenounced to her, Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a white man ignited one of the largest and most successful mass movements in opposition to racial segregation in history. At a time when African Americans experienced racial discrimination from the law and within their own communities on a daily basis, they saw a need for radical change and the Montgomery bus boycott helped push them closer to achieving this goal. Unfortunately, much of black history is already excluded from textbooks, therefore to exclude an event as revolutionary to the civil rights movement as this one would be depriving individuals of necessary knowledge. The Montgomery bus boycott, without a doubt, should be included in the new textbook because politically