Freedom+Rides+1961

Freedom Rides 1961 [|1]

The freedom rides of 1961 were nonviolent demonstrations that attempted at desegregation in travel such as busses and trains. These demonstrations were inspired by four African American college students who refused to leave a lunch counter where they were not allowed to eat. Freedom rides would go against normal transportation traditions. Instead, white people would sit in the back of the bus and black people would sit in the front. At terminals, white people would go to the black waiting room and black people would try to use the white facilities. Freedom rides were created by a white man, Gordon Carvey, and a black man named Tom Gaither. They were inspired by the Supreme Court judgment that banned segregation in transportation.

The freedom rides started out as nonviolent, harmless demonstrations but soon local racists got violent. In May of 1961 the first violent freedom ride occured. The bus encountered members of the Ku Klux Klan who beat the riders and sent the black people to the back of the bus. Mobs would prevent the riders from getting on the bus. Due to the violence, it soon became hard to find bus drivers who would risk their lives to conduct freedom rides. There were many more violent acts such as the Birmingham incident where over one thousand white people attacked the freedom riders.

Freedom rides brought attention to the issue of segregation in transportation. Because of their dedication and bravery, segregation in travel facilities finally became illegal in 1961. [|2]