Essay On The Freedom Riders

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On May 4,1961 a group of 7 African Americans and 6 Whites launched the historical Freedom Rides. This group of 13 brave americans set out to protest segregation in the interstate bus terminals. They knew what they were getting into but they didn't care. All they wanted was for everyone to be treated equal even if it cost them their lives. The Freedom Riders caught the attention of many by refusing to follow unfair laws, and by doing so they accomplished many things that positively affected everyones rights today. The Freedom Rides were organized by CORE ( Congress of Racial Equality). In 1947 they also had what they called a Journey of Reconciliation. The Journey of reconciliation also had the same goal as the Freedom Riders which is why CORE used as a model in creating The Freedom Riders. The 1961 Freedom Rides sought to test a 1960 decision by the supreme court in Boynton v. Virginia that segregation of interstate transportation facilities, including bus terminals, was unconstitutional as well.(History.com Staff). A big difference between the 1947 Journey of reconciliation and the 1961 Freedom Rides was the inclusion of Women. (History.com Staff).The Freedom Riders way of getting everyone's attention, that was very successful, was to use whites only restrooms and lunch counters. CORE leader James Farmer, Jr., expected the “ racist of the South to create a crisis.” (David 9). The first violent incident occurred on May 12 in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where 3 African American freedom Riders were viciously attacked as they attempted to enter a whites only waiting area. (History.com Staff). They would sit at the lunch counters for hours and when people tried to get them to leave they would not say a word. They would just stare st... ... middle of paper ... ... train stations nationwide.(History.com Staff) After President John F. Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, President Lyndon Johnson continued Kennedys work for a civil rights bill. He urged congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was successful. This act banned segregation in public places throughout the United States. The next year, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1964. The two acts together,though not entirely, ended segregation in the south.(Davide 45). This truly means that without the Freedom Rides the world would most likely would still have a lot of segregation the laws. The Freedom Riders not only fought for their own freedom but for everyones, and succeeded.The Freedom Riders caught the attention of many by refusing to follow unfair laws, and by doing so they accomplished many things that positively affected everyones rights today.

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