Freedom RidesLesson starter:Which protest of the Civil Rights movement do you believe was more successful;• the Montgomery Bus Boycott?• the Sit Ins?

Provide reasons for your answer.

Today we will…

• Understand the events of the Freedom Rides in 1961

• Assess the importance of the protest

Background…

• A new law passed by the Supreme Court had banned segregation in public areas such as bathrooms, waiting rooms and restaurants for people travelling on inter-state buses

• A group called CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) wanted to see if segregation had really ended

What were Freedom Rides?

• 13 CORE members travelled from Washington to New Orleans in May 1961

• Along the way the Black riders would use ‘white only’ washrooms and waiting rooms

What happened?

• They were met by heavy resistance from whites along the way

• The Klan was waiting for the freedom riders in Anniston, Alabama

• The two ‘Freedom’ buses were stopped and burned

• Passengers were beaten up

• The same happened in Birmingham, Alabama

Freedom Rider James Peck had 50 stitches in his head

Freedom Rider Jim Zwerg

Many Freedom Riders were arrested and jailed for taking part in the protests

Martin Luther King was so worried about the students’ safety he urged them to stop the Freedom Rides

Government involvement

• JFK sent an advisor to investigate the freedom rides

• When he arrived, he was beaten unconscious

• Media coverage of the violence the Freedom Riders met was widespread

• Police escorts were sent for the riders (but this did not end violence)

• CORE and another group the SNCC refused to end the Freedom Rides even though they were urged to by MLK, government, authorities etc

• Eventually, an order was sent to all interstate bus companies to end segregation at bus stations

• By late 1961 this extended to airports and railway stations

With a partner, come up with a list of positives and negatives of the

Freedom Rides

• Freedom Rides Good

• Washrooms and waiting rooms in interstate bus stations were desegregated

• They showed that nonviolent protest could change the law

• White Americans in the North felt sympathy for the Civil Rights Movement

• They showed people the brutality of the KKK

• Freedom Rides Bad

• People were badly injured on the Freedom Rides

• Some people felt the Freedom Riders were foolish for not bringing an end to the protest after the violence

• Some people felt the Freedom Rides did not do very much to change the country as a whole

Today we will…

• Understand the events of the Freedom Rides in 1961

• Assess the importance of the protest