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The First Freedom Ride
This was the first action taken by the Freedom Riders. 13 people consisting of 7 black and 6 white road on segregated buses in Washington, DC to challenge the state laws and expose the racism to the wider public. Their plan was if they were charged by the state, appeal to the federal court and get their charges overturned. This was because the state 'Jim Crow Laws' conflicted with the National Interstate Commerce Commission act which bans segragation on public buses. -
Mother's Day Violence
A Freedom Rider bus was viciously attacked by a mob of over 100 Ku Klux Klan members. The Clan slashed tires, smashed windows and set the bus on fire horribly beating the FRs that made it out. The Clan did this because they opposed the rights and equity of the African Americans. They wanted to kill or seriously injure the FR to deter them from continuing on the rebellion and exposing the racism in the south. -
Resuming the Freedom Rides
In the aftermath of the Mother's Day ambush, 10 FRs bravely took a bus from Nashville to Birmingham. When they got there they were arrested and jailed. Later they were driven to the Tennessee line and dumped on the side of the road for singing in the jail. -
The Montgomery Ambush
A Freedom Ride bus heads south from Birmingham to Montgomery. The bus's state police escort vanishes. When the FRs get off at Montgomery they are ambushed by 100s of Klansmen and beaten savagely along with the federal police. They were later blamed for the whole incident. This was another example of the KKK trying to break the will of the FRs and stop them from pursuing their goal. -
A Message From Martin Luther King
In the recent light of the Montgomery attacks, MLK flies down to Montgomery to support the FRs. While speaking at the First Baptist Church that evening thousands of hostile white supremacist gather out side and threatened the people inside. The town was luckily under Martial Law to protect the freedom riders. -
Freedom Riders arrested in Jackson, MS
The FR go on a bus trip from Montgomery to New Orleans, on the way they stopped at Jackson, MS. When they arrive at Jackson they attempt to use segregated restrooms and are immediately arrested. The following day they were trialed for breaching state law, the judge completely ignores the defendant's plea sending them to 60 days in state jail. This was a display of the political racism in the south.
