Freedom Rides

The very first freedom ride took place on May 4, 1961 when a group of black and white people left Washington D.C. to go to the Deep South.They wanted to test the Supreme courts ruling in which they declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional.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 (volunteers) Freedom Riders were evacuated from Birmingham, Alabama to New Orleans.

• Core= congress of racial equality

• Volunteers=people who helped core

They traveled from Birmingham to Montgomery 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
The riders continued to Mississippi, where they were treated badly and sometimes had 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.
By: Emily Bennett