In 1961, blacks undertook a new tactic aimed at desegregating public transportation throughout the south which was called the Freedom Ride. 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. Within the first few days, the riders encountered minor hostility, but in the second week the riders were severly 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.
The group traveled from Birmingham to Montgomery without incident, but when they get to Montgomery they were severely 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 have further brutality and jail terms but get 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. In November, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued rules prohibiting segregated transportation facilities.
For more information, go to:
http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/rides.html
This is some good information it is such a shame that white people were so cruel to the black people back in the day. It is good that you all gathered this information so people that don not know what going on in history can read this and learn something.
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