The Freedom Riders - A BRIEF HISTORY -
In May of 1961 the Freedom Riders, an interracial group of young people, traveled through the American South to protest the segregation on public interstate buses. Although discrimination by race on interstate travels was illegal, the Southern customs and traditions of segregated restrooms, waiting areas, ticket counters, and buses persisted. While traveling, the Freedom Riders experience verbal assaults and physical violence. Many were brutally beaten and needed to be hospitalized. The violence they experienced was so intense that the U.S. Government had to intervene sending U.S. Marshals to protect the Freedom Riders. The Freedom Rides testify to the courageous involvement of students and young people in the movement and their commitment to the struggle for racial equality and justice.
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