During 1961 although public transportation was not supposed to be segregated blacks were still to sit in the back of the bus so the whites could sit in the front. Because this was so a group of people calling themselves the Freedom Riders decided to take a bus trip through the South ignoring this idea, with hope that their demonstration would compel the Federal Government to uphold their laws to desegregate interstate travel that state officials in the South would not uphold. The Riders ran into many mobs and were beat and hurt many times even though authorities had prior knowledge of what was going to happen. With this happening they thought the rides would have to end until the SNCC students stepped in. Diane Nash was one the student who felt strongly about finishing the ride to prove their point. She even said, “If the Freedom Ride had been stopped as a result of violence I strongly felt that the future of the movement was going to be cut short because the impression would have been given that whenever a movement starts all that has to be done is that you attack it with violence and the blacks would stop.” After the violent incident the purpose of the Rides evolved to show that the citizens, no matter their skin color need to be protected by the state, and just because they were attacked didn’t mean they were going to run scared and not fight for their freedom. It took until September but finally then their purpose was fulfilled when the Interstate Commerce Commission complied to ban segregation of interstate travel.
I can not believe how badly the freedom riders were beaten during the trip, especially the white riders. However it was nice seeing that both races were involved in the freedom ride, putting their lives on the line for freedom that we enjoy today.
ReplyDeleteIt's really pathetic to see how so many people were angered to the point to riot just because African Americans were allowed to ride in the front of the bus. Think of how much time and money would have been saved if the mob would have just carried on with their daily lives instead of rioting at the bus stops for hours on end.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was so dumb that when the bus went from Alabama to Mississippi, the police and national guard protected the group, only to arrest them as soon as they set foot in the bust stop. Even after laws had been passed banning segregation in buses. I was impressed by the courage of both the black and the white Freedom Riders, though. The white riders took a lot of beatings for supporting the black riders, and I am glad that they stood up for what they believed in. We might not be at the point we are today without them.
ReplyDelete