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The Beginning
7 African Americans and 6 whites left Washington D.C. on a Greyhound bus. Their plan was to reach New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 17 to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, which ruled that segregation of the nation’s public schools was unconstitutional. -
Rock Hill
Arrived in Rock Hill, South Carolina to violence. John Lewis, an African American seminary student and member of the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), white Freedom Rider and World War II veteran Albert Bigelow and another Black rider were viciously attacked as they attempted to enter a whites-only waiting area. -
Atlanta
Arrived in Atlanta, Georgia. Some of the riders split off onto a Trailways bus. -
Anniston
Arrived in Anniston, Alabama where a group of about 200 angry white people were. Causing the driver to pass the bus station. The mob followed the bus until the tires blew out. Someone threw a bomb onto the bus, but the freedom riders were able to escape. The mob brutally beat them. The Trailways bus also arrived in Birmingham, Alabama where the freedom riders were attacked by members of the KKK. Because it was Mother’s Day, police protection wasn't allowed at the bus station. -
Photos
Photos of the Greyhound bus and the bloodied freedom riders were on the front page of newspapers throughout the country and around the world. This drew international attention to the freedom riders’ cause and the state of race relations in the U.S. -
Nashville
A group of 10 Nashville, Tennessee students continued the rides. U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy secured a bus driver and sate protection. They were abandoned by their police escort just before arriving at the Montgomery, Alabama terminal. The freedom riders were beaten again. Attorney General Kennedy sent 600 federal marshals to stop the violence. -
MLK Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. led a service at the First Baptist Church in Montgomery. Over a thousand supporters of the freedom riders were in attendance. A riot broke out outside the church. MLK called General Kennedy to ask for protection. The federal marshals arrived and used tear gas to disperse the white mob. Governor John Patterson of Alabama dispatched the National guard to restore order. -
"Cooling Off" Period
A group of freedom riders left Montgomery, Alabama for Jackson, Mississippi where several hundreds of supporters greeted them. Some other riders tried to use the whites only facilities and were arrested for trespassing. They were taken to the maximum-security penitentiary in Parchman, Mississippi. General Kennedy issued a “cooling off” period because of the growing violence. -
Womanpower Unlimited
While in Jackson, Freedom Riders received support from local grassroots civil rights organization Womanpower Unlimited. They raised money and collected toiletries, soap, candy, and magazines for the protesters. When the freedom riders were released, Womanpower members would provide places for them to bathe while offering them clothes and food. -
Attorney General Kennedy
Attorney General Kennedy sent a petition to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) asking it to comply with the bus-desegregation ruling it had issued in November 1955, in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company. -
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Rejecting "Cooling Off"
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) rejected the “cooling off” period. More than 60 different freedom riders moved all over the south. -
ICC
The Interstate Commerce Commission’s (ICC) ruling that segregation on interstate buses and facilities was illegal took effect.