…In 1961 CORE undertook a new tactic aimed at desegregating public transportation throughout the south. These tactics became know as the “Freedom Rides”. The first Freedom Ride took place on May 4, 1961 when seven blacks and six whites left Washington, D.C., on two public buses bound for the Deep South. They intended to test the Supreme Court’s ruling in Boynton v. Virginia (1960), which declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional. In the first few days, the riders encountered only minor hostility, but in the second week the riders were severely beaten. Outside Anniston, Alabama, one of their buses was burned, and in Birmingham several dozen whites attacked the riders only two blocks from the sheriff’s office. With the intervention of the U.S. Justice Department, most of CORE’s Freedom Riders were evacuated from Birmingham, Alabama to New Orleans. John Lewis, a former seminary student who would later lead SNCC and become a US congressman, stayed in Birmingham.CORE Leaders decided that letting violence end the trip would send the wrong signal to the country. They reinforced the pair of remaining riders with volunteers, and the trip continued. The group traveled from Birmingham toMontgomery without incident, but on their arrival in Montgomery they were savagely attacked by a mob of more than 1000 whites. The extreme violence and the indifference of local police prompted a national outcry of support for the riders, putting pressure on President Kennedy to end the violence. The riders continued to Mississippi, where they endured further brutality and jail terms but generated more publicity and inspired dozens more Freedom Rides. By the end of the summer, the protests had spread to train stations and airports across the South, and in November, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued rules prohibiting segregated transportation facilities.
Many thanks to my Daddy for providing the link I’m dropping..It includes the full PBS Freedom Riders Documentary>>
I love your header.
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Ahhh I am glad you like it…I found it last week & fell in love with it also
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Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Very important part of history!!
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Thank you for sharing this one Sis!
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That was a courageous step. I wonder if I would have the courage to do something like that now.
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I wonder the same thing also..It was very dangerous times..I am humbled, deeply, every time I think about the sacrifices(some of the ultimate with their very lives, Black & White folks..) for me & mine to have simple freedoms! Truly humbling..and I have tried very hard to make sure my sons realized this. As my parents made sure I knew dang well also..I’d like to think I’d have had the same courage..I pray I would’ve..There is a quote and I can’t recall right now(its late here & I am brain dead) that someone said..A man that won’t die for something is not fit to live..I think it may have been MLK, Jr that said that..I know without a moment to hesitate..I’d give my life for my sons..In an instant..Much as I love life! But would I do the same for their future freedoms? That is a heavy question…thanks for commenting ..I always appreciate reading your comments at Jueseppi’s spot.
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“A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
I remember reading that as a child. I doubt I understood the full impact of that then but reading it now, it is powerful.
Jueseppi has a great month planned for this Black History Month. 🙂 I can’t wait.
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Yes, its going to be a great month of learning and sharing..I’m excited also!
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Reblog!!
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Yay! Thanks for sharing Sis
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Reblogged this on Dead Citizen's Rights Society.
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Thank you very much for sharing this! 2 thumbs UP
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Reblogged this on SherayxWeblog.
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Hey there sherayx..Thank you very much for sharing this!
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Ur very welcome, and thank for sharing.
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Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat™.
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Waving, my Jueseppi! Many thanks for sharing this with the world..
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my pleasure. u rockin it girl
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Virtual high 5^
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