The first buses left Washington (D.C.) on May 4, 1961 with 13 riders (7 African-American and 6 White). Others followed throughout the month of May. All of these brave Americans knew they were putting their lives on the line, but they were determined to show how the South was still flaunting the law by continuing to enforce segregation in interstate transportation (which had been outlawed by the Supreme Court several years earlier).
They were met by violence throughout the South. Buses were burned, and the riders were beaten with chains, bats and metal pipes, attacked by police dogs, and arrested -- but they kept coming. Today they are admired for the bravery they displayed and are considered heroes. Their actions spurred many others to join the civil rights movement and truly changed this country.
However, they were not necessarily viewed as heroes at the time. Even many civil rights supporters believed they were pushing to hard and trying to change things too fast. President Kennedy, remembered now for his support of civil rights, even called them "unpatriotic" for bringing bad publicity to the nation worldwide during a time of Cold War.
But these wonderful people would not listen. They knew wrong when they saw it and were determined to correct it -- and they did. They should serve as an example to us today. You do not have to wait until you are in the majority to fight evil. In fact, your bravery can help to create that majority.
So today I honor the memory of all the freedom riders. They were (and still are) true American heroes.
In the summer of 1961, when I was 11 years old, I traveled with my family by car down to Florida. On that trip, I actually saw one of the Freedom Rider buses, although I can't remember which city it was in.
ReplyDeleteI also remember when we were staying at a motel in Orlando, walking one evening to the check-in area with my father, who struck up a conversation with night clerk. This was also at the time of the lunch counter sit-ins. Listening to the night clerk's "logic" about segregation was a real eye-opener for a pre-teen from upstate New York.
"If yuh walk into Woolworth's in downtown Orlando," he explained, "there's gonna be two lunch counters: one for the whites and one for the nig-ruhs. Same food, same prices, same service... Now why on earth do the nig-ruhs want to eat at the whites' lunch counter?"
I guess human dignity didn't enter into the equation for the night clerk.
Even though there's still residual racism in this country, it's astounding to me how far we've come since I was an 11-year-old, just 50 short years ago.
I don't know how many people will see this, other than you Ted, because this post is quite a ways down the page, but there will be documentary on the Freedom Riders on our local PBS affiliate (KACV - Channel 2) on Monday, May 16 at 8:00 PM.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, CT.
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