Freedom Riders Research Paper

Freedom Riders is the inspirational story of six-month period in 1961 that helped changed America forever. Starting in May of 1961, over 400 individuals of many different races, religion, and background risked their freedom and lives while attempting to travel on buses in the “Deep South.” Despite two earlier Supreme Court decisions, the Freedom Riders were met with racism and violence along their journey for equality.
Even though desegregation of interstate travel had begun, black Americans were continually treated with hostility when traveling in the South. At the time civil rights were the last thing on the minds if the Kennedy administration. With the threat of nuclear holocaust, the administration put the rights of our own citizen on the
back burning and focused all their attention on the Cold War. The freedom rides were used as a “dare” to the Kennedy administration as a dramatic attempt for attention from the federal government to do what it was supposed to and protect their rights upheld by the Constitution. The Congress of Racial Equality, also known as CORE, was the group responsible for organizing the freedom rides. Like many other groups of the time, they practiced non-violent protesting, and while naive to the turmoil that lay before them, were willing to stand up for their beliefs. At each stop the riders were met with violence and dismay, but no matter what happened, they found ways to continue, persevere and even expand their campaign. The riders were truly tested when they arrived in Mississippi, where state police officers locked up over 300 riders in the Parchman State Prison. The state officials believed this would finally put an end to the freedom rides, but instead rallied the “troops” and increased their determination.
The Freedom Rides were front page news and showed some of the worst and best of our country. After months of riots, fighting, and individuals being incarcerated for nothing other than riding on a bus, the federal government gave in. The riders proved that without violence people could still fight for what was right, and on September 22, the Interstate Commerce Commission finally issued its order to desegregate bus and rail stations. This was seen as the first explicit victory in Civil Rights Movement and helped open the doors for many more victories in the future. While I did know about several things of the Civil Rights Movement, I was unaware of the events known as the Freedom Rides.
I did know about the issue of segregation even after laws had been passed to end such things. Being from the south it is kind of a black mark on our history, but it is something that everyone should know about. Now like everyone, I know about Martin Luther King Jr. and all his work with the Civil Rights Movement, but was very surprised and a bit taken aback with his reluctance to participate in the Freedom Rides. The Congress of Racial Equality, also known as CORE, was new to me. I knew of the NAACP and SCLC organizations and what some of their goals and agendas were during the same time period, but was not aware until the video of CORE’s existence. I did know that at the time the base of the democrat party was the white south, which still makes me chuckle considering that the political parties have gone 180 degrees since then ( or have they). The lackluster attitude of the Kennedy administration during this time of civil unrest was a bit surprising. While I understand that the threat of nuclear holocaust is important, the civil liberties of your countries population should be somewhere near the top of your to-do list as well. The name Bull Connor was something that I had learned in a prior American history class, but was unaware of his authority and position in the Alabama government as well as his role in the impediment of the Civil Rights movement. The film was excellent in both quality and content with plenty of members of the freedom riders’ testimony, which was nice hearing from a first person perspective of the events that happened. I would recommend the film to anyone that wanted to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement and anyone that wanted to take a look into government
corruption.