The 50th Anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Rides will be celebrated on May 22-26 in Jackson, Mississippi. This epic event marked a pivotal point in the evolution of the civil rights movement.  It all began in 1960, when Black college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, walked into a Woolworth’s store and sat down at the lunch counter. No doubt this sparked a campaign that spread like wildfire and successfully desegregated many businesses in big cities and little towns across the South. James Farmer, leader of the Congress of Racial Equality, (CORE), suggested “Freedom Rides,” because the Supreme Court had ruled that segregation in bus, train stations and airports was illegal. Mr. Farmer also took into account that stations in Southern states were still segregating and the federal government were not making any effort to enforce the law. On May 4, 1961, thirteen riders, both men and women, both Black and White, loaded two buses in Washington D.C., heading South to New Orleans. However, it was said, when the Riders made it to Alabama, on that dreadful Sunday, May 14th- Mother’s Day, “all hell broke loose.” Mobs forced the buses off the road, slashed their tires, and threw firebombs into the buses before blocking the doors. Quite naturally, the Riders couldn’t get out. Many of them were burned alive.  In Birmingham, the scene was no better. When the second group of Riders went to get off at the Birmingham Bus Station, they were severely attacked and beaten. It was said that police officials were not working because the Chief  had given them the day off to spend with their Mother’s.

 (From the left:) Freedom Rider and National Board Chair Hank Thomas; Freedom Rider Congressman John Lewis (GA); Mississippi Board Member Martha Bergmark; Freedom Rider Congressman Bob Filner (CA); Freedom Rider Joan Mulholland; Congressman Bennie Thompson (MS); Freedom Rider Rev. Reginald Green; and Mississippi Board Chair and Foundation President Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore.

Photo by Ladyest Images for Mississippi Freedom 50th

Congressman John Lewis, who was a student at American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville at the time, was hit in the head with a wooden Coca-Cola crate. On May 24th, the Riders loaded  two more buses and headed to Jackson, Mississippi. This time, the Riders were arrested and jailed Breach for Peace charges. They then ditched their idea of going to New Orleans and refused to post bail or pay fines related to their arrests. Between May 24 and September 13, more than 300 people went to Mississippi by way of public transportation.  
The new Riders desegregated stations by going into the “wrong” waiting areas, sitting at the ‘Whites only’ counters, and using the wrong restrooms. They too were arrested.  Because of their actions, Jackson’s jails were overflowing with Riders. The Interstate Commerce Commission issued new regulations mandating an end to segregation in public bus and train stations.
In essence, The Freedom Riders finally won. This movement subsequently lead to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. What all African-Americans walking God’s green Earth must understand is that because of the actions of the Riders and many others like them, it gained us the opportunity of freedom.  The freedom to vote; we were able to elect our first Black president, the freedom to drink from any water fountain we please; regardless of the fact there may be folks who don’t like it; the freedom of sitting anywhere we want to on public transportation; although many of us still prefer to sit in the back of buses.  The list of our freedoms go on and on, although many of us are still stuck in ways that would make the people who marched, fought, were imprisoned, attacked by vicious dogs and angry mobs, beaten to death and/or killed, seem like everything they fought and stood up for was in all vain.  We as African-Americans should realize they paved the way for us and our future generations.  This is why the history of what  the Freedom Riders accomplished and the dedication and outcome of many others fighting for our civil rights is so important to African-Americans.  We personally did not participate in marches, protests, sit-ins, rides, etc., but, the least we can do is respect and pay homage to those who did by never forgetting and standing up for what is right.