Freedom Riders

https://www.nps.gov/frri/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Riders_National_Monument The Freedom Riders National Monument is located in Anniston, Alabama. It preserves and commemorates the Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1961, a small interracial band of “Freedom Riders” challenged discriminatory laws requiring separation of the races in interstate travel. They were attacked by white segregationists, who firebombed the bus. Images of the attack appeared in hundreds of newspapers, shocking the American public and spurring the Federal Government to issue regulations banning segregation in interstate travel. Directions to the Bus Burning Site, from Atlanta and Points East: From I-20, take exit 179 toward AL-202 E/US-78/Coldwater. Merge onto Alabama State Highway 202. Turn right onto Old Birmingham Hwy. The Bus Burning site is located on the right. Limited parking is available at the burn site with entry from the Old Birmingham Hwy. There is no authorized parking or pedestrian activity along State Route 202. For directions to the Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot, click on link below. Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot The Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot is open on Wednesdays, 10 am–3 pm. Park rangers and volunteers will be available to open the site and answer visitor questions, provide parks brochures, park stamps, and Junior Ranger books and badges. Outside exhibits are open 24 hours every day. Visiting on a day the depot isn't open? Visit the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce for passport stamps and brochures. Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce Due to limited hours at the Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot, information about Freedom Riders National Monument is also available at the Calhoun County Area Chamber & Visitors Center. The Visitor Vestibule with the passport stamp and park brochures is open 24 hours every day. From Atlanta and Points East From I-20, take exit 185 to Alabama State Hwy 21 North. Follow AL-21 N to Quintard Ave in Anniston. Merge onto AL-21 N/S Quintard Ave. Make a U-turn at E 15th St. Continue straight, until you see the Chamber of Commerce sign on your right. From Birmingham and Points West From I-20, take exit 179 and follow AL-202 to Quintard Ave in Anniston. Turn left onto Priebes Mill Rd.Continue onto AL-202. Turn left onto Noble St. Turn right onto E 14th St. Turn right onto Quintard Ave.Con Greyhound Mural Colored Greyhound mural with historical information about the Freedom Riders Greyhound mural at the Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot. Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot street view of a yellow brick bus depot, with a black awning and NPS sign, and an alley entrance. The Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot at Freedom Riders National Monument in Anniston AL, site of an attack on Freedom Riders in May of 1961. Conservation Diaries: Kia Hill, Storyteller of Black History and Administrator Meet Kia Hill, the secretary for the superintendent of Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument and the Freedom Riders National Monument in Alabama. Before landing this job, Kia was an intern and a park ranger at Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. Learn more about Kia’s journey to the National Park Service and her passion for storytelling and being a role model for Black youth. park ranger walking through an open bridge The Modern Civil Rights Movement in the National Capital Area The national capital area’s everyday people contributed to the overall success of the modern Civil Rights Movement. From students to pastors, lawyers to teachers, parents and every-day people planned efforts between the 1950s to the 1960s to eliminate segregation and the discrimination. Civil Rights leaders surrounded by journalists and media. Series: A Timeline of Resistance: The Perseverance of African Americans from the Revolutionary War to the Civil Rights Era The story of African American’s fight for equality did not begin or end with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In the National Capital Area, dedicated activism and self-determination has been documented since the Revolutionary War through the present day. This series consists of six articles that outline distinct timelines of resistance and activism in the fight for freedom. A young African American girl gazes at the camera holding a banner for the March on Washington

National Park Service Freedom Riders U.S. Department of the Interior Freedom Riders National Monument tSYTH Sc SON 6RQ nil Firebombed Greyhound bus, near Anniston, AL Joseph Postiglione In 1961,a small interracial group of"Freedom Riders" challenged discriminatory laws requiring the separation of races in interstate travel. The Freedom Riders were attacked by white segregationists in Anniston, Alabama, who firebombed the bus. Images of the attack appeared in hundreds of newspapers,shocking the American public and spurring the federal government to issue regulations banning segregation in interstate travel. Who Were The Freedom The Freedom Riders were civil rights activists Over 400 African American and white Riders? who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States in 1961.Their goal was to test if bus station facilities in the Deep South were complying with United States Supreme Court decisions {Morgan v. Virginia and Boynton v. Virginia) striking down segregation Freedom Riders risked their lives on more than 50 freedom rides in 1961. They endured beatings, arrests, and jail time for their decision to travel throughout the segregated South. in interstate travel. Violence Meets Courage On May 4,1961,thirteen Freedom Riders split into two groups and boarded a Greyhound Twelve-year-old Janie Forsyth was standing in front of her father's bus and a Trailways bus in Washington D.C., grocery store near where the bus had bound for New Orleans, Louisiana. broken down. Upon witnessing people gasping and choking,Janie sprang into action On Sunday, May 14,1961,the Greyhound bus carrying the first group of Freedom Riders departed Atlanta, Georgia and was met by an angry mob of more than 100 white and filled a bucket with water. She began filling glasses and washing the faces of the passengers who had been trapped on the bus. The angry mob watched her heroic efforts. segregationists,including members of the Ku Klux Klan,at the Greyhound bus station in Anniston, Alabama.The mob threw rocks at the bus, broke windows,and slashed tires. The Freedom Riders ultimately received little additional aid for their injuries. Later that day, deacons from Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham,Alabama, dispatched by Belatedly, police officers arrived and cleared Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth rescued the a path,allowing the bus to depart with a long line of vehicles in pursuit. Two cars pulled ahead of the bus,forcing it to slow to a crawl. Freedom Riders from the angry mob and drove them to shelter at the church. Six miles outside of town, the bus's slashed tires gave out and the driver stopped on the shoulder of Highway 202 near the Forsyth and Son Grocery Store. There, with the Freedom Riders onboard, one member of the mob threw a bundle of flaming rags through one of the passenger windows,causing an explosion seconds later. The Freedom Riders struggled to escape as members of the mob attempted to trap them inside the burning bus. Historic Greyhound bus station, Anniston, AL NPS photo