What where the freedom rides, who were
the Freedom Riders? The Freedom rides were a series of political protest
segregation by blacks and whites where on a bus tour heading down to the
American South. They were also out in the deep south to defy the Jim Crow laws
and wanted change. The Freedom Rides were a CORE sponsored trip, CORE is The Congress of Racial Equality. Both blacks and whites
traveled to fight against segregation in the transit systems in the south. The original
Freedom Riders were made up of total thirteen American citizens, seven African
Americans and six whites. They all got on a Greyhound bus in D.C. and other
places to tour the south to protest the segregated bus terminals. These people
where testing the 1960 Supreme Court outcome from the Boynton v. Virginia. That declared the segregation of interstate
transportation facilities unconstitutional.
Image
above is from the Freedom
Riders and is of the original 13 Freedom Riders on their
first ride.
The
Freedom Riders met a lot of violent affairs. They encountered obstinate
resistance by white supremacists acted bus depots themselves. In Freedom Riders by Raymond Arsenault,
the first rides came about on a personal level and then changed to the legal
maneuvering involved. The freedom rides faced a very staggered bus schedule. On
the Freedom Riders journey to different cities in the south they encountered
and faced many mobs on the way. They faced violence from both police officers
and white protesters, and this drew international attention.
On Mother’s Day in 1961 was an
irrational day for the Freedom Riders. When the bus with the Freedom Riders
reached Anniston, Alabama they ran into a mob. The mob mounted the bus and then
threw a bomb into the bus, the Freedom Riders escaped there burning bus but
were severely beaten. After this occurrence they couldn’t find a bus driver to
continue them on there journey. So, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the
brother of John F. Kennedy negotiated with Alabama Governor John Patterson to
find a suitable driver for the Freedom Rider. They found them a driver and the
Freedom Riders resumed their journey under police escort on May 20th.
Once they reached Montgomery, the officers turned around and headed back. They
ran into another white mob in Montgomery that brutally attacked the bus. The
mob’s attacked the bus with crowbars and other objects and even attempted to
flip the bus on its side. So, Attorney General Kennedy sent Federal Marshals.
Image above is of
the Freedom Riders bus burning in Anniston, Alabama when a bomb was thrown in
it from the Civil Rights
Movement Photographs.
On
May 24th, 1961 the Freedom riders got to Jackson, Mississippi. Upon
their arrival in Jackson thy met with hundreds of supporters, but they were all
arrested. They were arrested for trespassing in a “white only” facility and
sentenced to 30 days in jail. The National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, NAACP brought the incident of them being arrested to the United
States Supreme Court, who reversed the convictions. After there convictions
were reversed, hundreds of new Freedom Riders were drawn, and the freedom rides
continued. In the fall of 1961, facing pressure from the Kennedy
Administration, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations
prohibiting segregation in the interstate transit terminals. Wonder where the
thirteen Freedom Riders are today, to know where they are at today visit The
Freedom Riders, Then and Now to read up more on where
they are today.
The
Freedom Riders connect to a passage of Gaudium
et spes, like how I said in my last blog about Tommie Smith and John Carloś.
This topic connects the passage of Gaudium
et spes in how one is defending our right civil rights and pushing toward
equality between the African Americans and whites. These thirteen citizens are
citizens are trying to defend the rights of other citizens while the authority
is trying to overstep them and take there right of protest away. In this case
they are protesting for equal rights in interstate transit terminals.
This is one of the spots in american history that we wish we could get rid of because of the actions of just a few americans that did not represent for who we should have been at the time. It hurts to hear about these stories now because we can't do anything to help. That is kind of how Gaudium looks at the situation because of how we should treat everyone in our community.
ReplyDeleteYour passage and my passage are extremely similar. In my article, The Chicano Movement of the 1960s, the group of Mexican American students were protesting for their rights when it came to school. They believed their should be teachers who were also Mexican American as well as Hispanic Studies. They walked out and protested for these rights that they believed they deserved. Both of these articles discusses citizens trying to defend their civil rights and equality. While they may be different races, both groups are trying to push for what they believed and knew they deserved when it came to their rights. That is why both of these articles connect to "Gaudium et spes" because they are protesting for the rights they deserve and protesting was they only way people were going to hear them.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see the importance of transportation in Civil Rights and racism throughout history. My second Blog post was on the 1990's Bus Riders Union in Los Angeles, who were protesting racist policies showing themselves in different ways. Though we have made strides since the Freedom Rides, actions like The Bus Riders Union protest and other more recent/ late 20th Century Supreme Court cases show that institutionalized racism still exists and must be fought, even if it is not as visible as the Freedom Rides. Grassroots organization and protest in this way is absolutely in line with "Gaudium et Spes" as it is the fruition of free people trying to create a more just society for themselves and their communities.
ReplyDelete