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Freedom Riders Began
Seven black and six white protestors ride the bus which is led by a CORE leader, James Farmer, through Virginia, Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. -
Attack on the Freedom Riders
On Mother's Day, more than 100 Klu Kulx Klan attacked the freedom riders at Anninston, AL. The mod attacked and chased the bus and burn the bus while trying to keep the protestors inside so they can be burned alive. Fortunately, there was a undercover cop inside the bus who helped them by pushing the attackers away which created a opportunity for the Freedom Riders to escape the bus. -
Resume The Riders
On May 17, 1961, 10 students from Nashville took the bus to Birmingham and got arrested by Bull Connor. In the jail cell, the Freedom Riders kept singing freedom song which Connor found annoying so he dropped them off at Tennessee. -
The Fight Continues
A bus traveled toward Montgomery with the protection of the Alabama State Highway Patrol. The bus was abandoned near where a mob of white people waited. The Freedom Riders were beaten with baseball bats and iron pipes while the local police did nothing to stop it. The ambulances refused to take the injured Freedom Riders so fellow black citizens helped them instead. -
To Honor Freedom Riders
Around 1,200 black citizens gathered at Reverend Abernathy's 1st Baptist church to honor all the Freedom Riders and Martin Luther King spoke in their behalf. Outside the church, 3,000 white citizens taunt the black citizens. There were authorities protecting the church but not the black citizens so Martin Luther King Jr. appealed President Kennedy for protection. -
Restroom "White Only"
The Freedom Riders went up to Jackson, Mississippi and tried to use an "only white" restroom which resulted in them getting arrested for Breach of Peace and Refusal to Obey an Officer. They were not allowed to be bailed out and stayed in jail for 39 days. -
"Cooling of Period"
President Kennedy asked the Freedom Riders to have a "cooling off period" and said that the Freedom Riders had embarrassed the country. "We have been cooling off for 350 years, and if we cooled off any more, we'd be in a deep freezer," James Farmer answered to President Kennedy. -
Period: to
Summer of 1961
The Freedom Rider Leaders refused the "cooling off period" and continued their protest through out the summer. Majority of the rides are in Jackson and almost 300 riders in total were arrested. During this time, protestors also protested against racial discrimination and sat together in places where it is segregated. -
Pressure on the President
The leaders of CORE and SNCC made plans to put pressure on President Kennedy that will gathered around thousands of nonviolent protestors which was called "Washington Project". -
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
A new ICC was put where any passengers are allowed to sit anywhere they please in the bus despite their race and/or gender. "White Only" signs are taken down on drinking faucets, bathrooms, and waiting rooms. This movement inspired other civil rights movement during this time, such as the voting rights.
