![]() ![]() When a violent mob prevented the riders from leaving Birmingham, Diane Nash, a Fisk University student (and native of Chicago) recruited replacements from Nashville. ![]() Shortly after, in a Birmingham bus terminal, a mob of Klansmen attacked the second group of riders, while members of the Bull Connor-led police department were nowhere to be seen for fifteen minutes following the bus’ arrival.īut as word of the Riders’ courage spread, more Americans stood up to take their place. On a highway outside Anniston, Alabama, a mob of nearly 200 firebombed one of the buses, only stopping their attack with the arrival of state troopers, who fired warning shots but arrested no one. ![]() In Rock Hill, South Carolina, John Lewis was assaulted by a dozen young men as he tried to enter a “whites-only” waiting room in the Greyhound terminal. Within days of leaving Washington, riders were threatened, arrested, and beaten. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and other advocates had organized the rides to build upon recent successful boycotts and sit-ins against segregation throughout the South. Virginia ruling prohibiting the segregation of interstate travel. Their goal was to challenge state laws that enforced segregation in transportation and call upon the federal government to enforce the recent Supreme Court Boynton v. But in the weeks and months that followed, those riders and their reinforcements would capture the attention of the world.Īll had committed themselves to nonviolent resistance. There was little press coverage of their departure from Washington. It was a diverse group: seven Black and six white three women and 10 men with backgrounds that included a World War II Navy captain, a former stockbroker, a preacher, and a 21-year-old seminary student named John Lewis, on the cusp of graduation. ticketed to arrive 13 days and 1,500 miles later in New Orleans. On May 4, 1961, 13 passengers boarded two buses in Washington D.C. But to understand their story and their impact, it’s worth revisiting just how extraordinary their journey was. To mark the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Rides, we spoke with veterans of the movement, as well as author Eric Etheridge, whose book Breach of Peace features a photo-history of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders and offers a window into what it felt like to live through this pivotal moment in history.īelow you’ll find that Q&A, along with excerpts from our conversations with the Freedom Riders themselves. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker.Voices of the Freedom Riders By The Obama Foundation Marker is at or near this postal address: 212 Constitution Avenue, Meridian MS 39301, United States of America. Located at the Meridian/Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau. Marker is at the intersection of 4th Street and Constitution Avenue, on the left when traveling west on 4th Street. Marker is in Meridian, Mississippi, in Lauderdale County. In addition, it is included in the Meridian, Mississippi Civil Rights Trail series list. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans Their experience was unlike that in other cities, where they faced mob violence and arrests.Įrected 2014 by the Meridian/Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau. It is in Meridian in Lauderdale County Mississippi Freedom Riders traveled through the Meridian bus station without major incident, thanks to negotiation efforts by local Civil Rights activists and police. This historical marker was erected in 2014 by the Meridian/Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau. Their experience was unlike that in other cities, where they faced mob violence and arrests. Freedom Riders traveled through the Meridian bus station without major incident, thanks to negotiation efforts by local Civil Rights activists and police. ![]()
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