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Planning and Training
raining sessions conducted by CORE. These sessions were held in Washington, D.C., where volunteers were trained in nonviolent resistance techniques. Participants, both Black and White, were prepared for the extreme racial hostility they might face in the Deep South. -
Departure from Washington, D.C.
The first group of 13 Freedom Riders, including seven Black and six White individuals, departed on Greyhound and Trailways buses. Their goal was to test and challenge segregated bus terminals in the Southern states. -
Bus Burning in Anniston, Alabama
A mob of angry White people surrounded the Greyhound bus when it stopped in Anniston, slashing its tires. When the bus was forced to pull over outside the town, the mob threw a firebomb inside, forcing the passengers to exit into an awaiting violent crowd. -
Mob Attack in Birmingham, Alabama
As the Trailways bus arrived in Birmingham, Freedom Riders were brutally beaten by a mob of Ku Klux Klan members with the police notably absent. The violence was severe and drew national and international condemnation. -
Federal Involvement in Montgomery, Alabama
Following a severe attack on Freedom Riders upon their arrival in Montgomery, which also injured several onlookers, the situation gained President John F. Kennedy's attention. He dispatched federal marshals to restore order and protect the Freedom Riders. -
ICC Ruling
The rides concluded in the fall of 1961 after months of enduring violence and hostility. The national outcry contributed to the ICC issuing a ruling that enforced the desegregation of bus and train stations nationwide, going into effect in November.