The Freedom Riders saga | The UWM Post Twice in 1960, the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled that racial segregation in bus terminals and interstate travel was unconstitutional and thus illegal. However, many states in the South refused to acknowledge these rulings and continued to enforce Jim Crow laws, subsequently supporting segregation and a “separate but equal” standing between African-Americans and Caucasians.
The interracial rides officially began on May 4, 1961. There were 13 people of multiple diversities who attempted to ride from Washington D.C. to New Orleans. Met with massive resistance and violence, the riders’ goal was ultimately unmet as they did not manage to make it to New Orleans. In Anniston, Ala., the group was met with incredible resistance by members of the Ku Klux Klan. The group waylaid the bus, slashing its tires. The riders were surrounded, stranded; some members of the KKK held the bus doors shut while others threw Molotov cocktails at it, trying to burn the activists to death. There was an as-of-yet undisclosed event that forced the members of the KKK to disperse, allowing the riders to retreat. Upon arrival of the bus to the terminal in Anniston, the riders were viciously attacked by more KKK members, a move orchestrated by Police Sergeant Tom Cook, who was himself a Klan member. In Birmingham, the situation escalated even further. Upon arrival, the riders were met with an angry mob, armed with all sorts of melee weapons from baseball bats to chains. They were viciously beaten and eventually arrested. Members of the community ranging from average citizens to FBI informants participated in the savage beatings. Upon hearing about the Freedom Riders and the controversy surrounding them, Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General, urged the Freedom Riders to tone down their actions. In a statement by his brother, President John F. Kennedy, he vaguely referenced the movement by saying that civil rights distracted from foreign policy decisions. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) continued the rides despite the unsuccessful attempt to get to New Orleans. Again, upon arriving in Birmingham they were arrested and later transferred to Tennessee as the overlooking police official at the time was unable to stand their freedom songs while imprisoned. The worst resistance the group met was in Montgomery. After again being savagely beaten and abandoned by public officials, the group’s supporters rallied at a local Baptist church. Over 1,500 supporters packed the chapel, led by Reverend Ralph Abernathy. Outside, an angry mob of around 3,000 white supremacists surrounded the church, pelting it with stones, bricks and fiery Molotov cocktails. Eventually the Alabama National Guard was called in to restore order. A deal was struck between Mississippi and the federal government where local law enforcement would protect the Freedom Riders from mob violence which was gaining media attention. In exchange the federal government would not interfere with local officials arresting the riders for violating Jim Crow laws. On entering the bus depot in Mississippi, all of the Freedom Riders were immediately arrested. -- http://www.uwmpost.com/2011/02/09/the-freedom-riders-saga/ Via InstaFetch -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
