Journal of american history spears writing is clear and interesting, and she explains the complexities of chemical bonds with the same eloquence that she describes the events that took place in anniston when freedom riders rode through the town in 1961. Nashville freedom riders walk down the street in a group, with diane nash at the. Today in mighty girl history, 12yearold janie forsyth mckinney performed a heroic act of compassion in response to the firebombing of the freedom riders bus in anniston, alabama in 1961. After the riders were attacked at the station in anniston, the bus was firebombed after. The freedom rides and alabama focuses on the freedom riders experiences in alabama, from the firebombing of their bus in anniston to surviving beatings in birmingham. The freedom riders national monument is one of three national monuments that was designated by. May 14, 2017 fred shuttlesworth, crouching center, and freedom riders discuss plans at the birmingham greyhound terminal after drivers refused them service. Terror and profundity in eyewitness history of an epochal era. Jan 15, 2017 freedom rider hank thomas shares his story of riding the bus from anniston alabama, challenging the segregation laws at the time. This book is an amazing account of the freedom riders college students who braved jail, beatings, and indeed their lives in the summer of 1961 to desegregate interstate bus travel.
Their goal was to help end racial segregation in public transportation. Riders in anniston al, attacking the greyhound bus, smashing the windows, and slashing the tires. The burning greyhound bus pictured here carried freedom riders into anniston on may 14, 1961, as part of an effort to test a newly enacted integration law regarding bus stations in the south. In the coming years services will be added to the park in cooperation with our partners. Fred shuttlesworth, crouching center, and freedom riders discuss plans at the birmingham greyhound terminal after drivers refused them service. Aida frey, the most decorated junior ranger in the national park service holds a copy. Book on freedom riders gave author window into history. The freedom riders were riding an integrated bus to protest alabamas jim crow segregation laws that denied african americans their civil rights. Alabama plays a small role in breach of peace, etheridges book about what. They were prepared to meet mob violence with nonviolence and courage. This concise guidebook gives a brief overview of the 1961 freedom rides, a crucial moment in american history in which an interracial group traveled across the south to protest segregated transportation. He risked his life photographing the 1961 freedom riders. Freedom riders national endowment for the humanities neh. We wanted to visit the historical marker on hwy 202 where a mob made up of area residents attacked and burned a greyhound bus with freedom riders on board.
Freedom riders janie forsyth mckinney was a seventh. Full online access to this resource is only available at the library of congress. But the riders efforts transformed the civil rights movement. When they arrived in anniston their bus was suddenly fenced in by a mob of white men, who beat on the bus windows and cut the tires. On may 14, 1961, the greyhound bus was the first to arrive in anniston, alabama. Of anniston, alabama is an alabama domestic nonprofit corporation filed on december 12, 2012. Murals in the alleyways of the old greyhound and trailways bus stations depict scenes from when the freedom riders were attacked here on may 11, 1961. Junior ranger, aida frey visits the freedom riders. On may 14, the greyhound bus arrived at the terminal in anniston, calhoun county. One of the buses was attacked and firebombed by a mob outside anniston on mothers day, sunday, may 14, 1961. Janie forsyth mckinney was a seventh grader working in her fathers grocery just outside of anniston, alabama, when the greyhound bus carrying freedom riders was firebombed just in front of the grocery store. The monument is administered by the national park service. An appendix running fiftyfour pages at the back of his nearly 700page 2006 book freedom riders. Janie forsyth mckinney was twelve years old when the freedom riders came through her hometown of anniston, alabama, on may 14, 1961.
And when all of the town folks showed up to greet the bus, i have to say i was a little nervous. Soon after the photo was taken, the group was arrested and later released in a rural allwhite area on the orders of birminghams commissioner of public safety. Attack on freedom riders, 1961 the 1961 freedom rides were public bus trips undertaken. Spears offers a compelling and compassionate account of the souths hope for the chemical industry in the wake of reconstruction and the environmental and racial inequalities that accrued over time.
One bus was firebombed in anniston, and the other, after its passengers were. On may 14, mothers day, in anniston, alabama, a mob of klansmen, some. On this mothers day, a group of freedom riders traveling by bus from washington, d. Book on freedom riders gave author window into history usa today. The companys filing status is listed as exists and its file number is 272990. As news spread of the brutality faced by freedom riders in anniston and birmingham, alabama, the american public had to make a choice. Aresnaults book became a primary source for a the pbsamerican experience documentary, freedom riders an excellent twohour show that first aired in midmay 2011 and has since won numerous awards. The image of the greyhound bus in flames was an image printed in papers across the united states. The book details how volunteers both black and white traveled to mississippi and alabama to fight segregation in transit systems. Another mothers day has come and gone and still no officially supported memorial honors the freedom riders at the site where civil rights workers braved the vicious firebombing of their bus near anniston, alabama, on mothers day in may 1961.
Dont get me wrong, the spirit of the day was pleasant, upbeat, ambitious, something just felt funny. On mothers day, 1961 when the group of freedom riders rode on the exact bus into anniston, al. Freedom rides encyclopedia of alabama auburn university. Adam strom, facing history and ourselves democracy is a process, not a static condition. The book details how volunteers both black and white traveled to. Anniston star a significant and richly detailed study of environmental justice. Freedom riders shed light on souths refusal to desegregate. Anniston freedom riders murals anniston murals in the alleyways of the old greyhound and trailways bus stations depict scenes from when the freedom riders were attacked here on may 11, 1961.
The freedom riders of 1961 in 1961, the freedom riders set out for the deep south to defy jim crow laws and call for change. The freedom rides and alabama focuses on the freedom riders. Cowling, an alabama undercover police officer, was aboard the bus and forced the attackers back at gunpoint. Freedom riders, from left, john lewis, charles butler, catherine burks brooks, lucretia collins and salynn mccollum sit on a bench in the birmingham greyhound station on may 17, 1961. The book, a collection of etheridges recent portraits of 80 freedom riders. Freedom rider hank thomas speaks to a room of school children and teachers about his experiences in anniston in 1961 at the anniston public library saturday, may 14, 2016. Attack on freedom riders, 1961 encyclopedia of alabama. These two young men, empowered by their successes in the nashville student movement, were among those who volunteered to continue the freedom rides after violence in anniston, alabama, left the original bus in flames with the riders injured and in retreat. Baptized in pcbs new directions in southern studies. In 1961, the freedom riders set out for the deep south to defy jim crow laws. Nashville students and sncc pick up freedom rides sncc. As the bus burned, the kkk mob held the doors shut, intent on burning the riders alive. The second was the birmingham civil rights nationa.
County and the second largest in eastcentral alabama, anniston as a. Momentum is growing to construct a suitable memorial at the siteone of the most iconic locations in the struggle to end segregationbefore. Apr 21, 2011 janie forsyth mckinney was twelve years old when the freedom riders came through her hometown of anniston, alabama, on may 14, 1961. Anniston, although a small town, made a huge impact on the history of the freedom riders. Jan 12, 2006 but the riders efforts transformed the civil rights movement. But roughly an hour and twenty minutes into stanley nelsons freedom riders, the 2010 documentary about the bloody nonviolent campaign in the spring of 1961 to end segregated bus travel in the american south, you can see a railthin, circumspectlooking white man carrying a notebook in the deep dark of an alabama night as national guard troops move towards the. Freedom riders park anniston 2020 all you need to know. Freedom riders, sponsored by the congress of racial. Beyond the burning bus the civil rights revolution in a southern town anniston, alabama. Lewis and zwerg joined the cause knowing their own fate could be equally harsh, if not worse. Newsouth books would like to commend the journey of the 2011 student freedom ride, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the freedom rides through the south.
On may 14, 1961, seven courageous members of the congress of racial equality, which initiated the freedom rides, boarded an interstate greyhound bus in atlanta to challenge segregation in bus seating. The freedom riders escaped through an open back window before the bus exploded. There will soon be a new national monument to the freedom riders in anniston, but for now there is this monument. The mob holds freedom rider bus burned outside of anniston al. Junior ranger, aida frey visits the freedom riders monument.
The registered agent on file for this company is munford, trudy m and is located at 2226 mcdaniel avenue, anniston, al 36201. Freedom riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated. In 1960, the united states supreme court had ruled in boynton v. Firmly renouncing violence in the spirit of gandhi, they set the course of civil rights actions that followed. After local klan members firebombed the bus, mckinney assisted. Photo, print, drawing freedom riders, sponsored by the congress of racial equality, gather outside burning bus in anniston, ala. The program is composed of 40 college students from over 30 states, chosen by american experience, whose goal is to spark a national debate concerning the role of civic engagement in todays society. The freedom riders national monument is one of three national monuments that was designated by presidential proclamation of president obama on january 12, 2017. Located next to camping world in anniston, alabama. After a mob attacked a bus with protesters in alabama in 1961, hundreds more joined the cause. The charred remains of a greyhound bus burned on alabama 202 west of anniston on may 14, 1961. Aida frey, the most decorated junior ranger in the national park service talks with freedom rider charles person on the phone during her visit to the freedom riders national monument. The freedom riders escaped, but the image of the burnedout bus was seen all around the world in press coverage. Freedom riders were groups of white and african american civil rights activists who participated in freedom rides, bus trips through the american south in.
Ed blankenheim kneeling, charles person, theodore gaffney, james peck, rev. The 1961 freedom riders did not begin or end their journey in montgomery, alabama, but their arrival changed the city and our nation. Freedom riders national monument is a national park service unit located in anniston, alabama. The freedom riders park committee is dedicated to the story of the freedom riders and the development of freedom riders national monument in ne alabama. A mob attacked the bus because it was carrying civil rights activists known as freedom riders. Freedom riders on these buses were met with violence in montgomery, alabama, and jailed under the most inhumane conditions in jackson, mississippi. As the bus burned, the white mob beat the freedom riders until the police arrived and ended the violence.
In 1961, a group of civil rights activists known as the freedom riders began a desegregation campaign. Shuttlesworth then sent an armed group from birmingham to ferry the greyhound riders from the anniston hospital to a new bus. After the riders were attacked at the station in anniston, the bus was firebombed after breaking down several miles outside the city. Out of all of the places on the freedom riders 1961 trip, i think the anniston. The bus tries to flee, but the attackers give chase, halting it on the outskirts of town, then setting it on fire. After a mob attacked a bus with protesters in alabama in 1961, hundreds more. We returned to the area several times over the years, the first time in 1962 for our first furlough. On mothers day in 1961, a greyhound bus carrying freedom riders was ambushed in anniston, alabama. Explore annistons civil rights history us civil rights trail.
Freedom riders with a burning bus at anniston, alabama, may 14, 1961 upi my family had left the anniston area in 1958 when my parents became southern baptist missionaries to thailand. Beginning on monday, august 5, 2019, the freedom riders national monument interim visitor center will be relocating from the city of anniston, 1128 gurnee ave. At the time, civil rights activists were conducting freedom rides throughout the southern united states during which groups of blacks and whites would ride. Aida frey, the most decorated junior ranger in the national park service talks with freedom rider charles person on the phone during her visit to the freedom riders national monument in anniston. Their efforts transformed the civil rights movement. The book, a collection of etheridges recent portraits of 80 freedom riders juxtaposed with mug shots from their arrests in 1961, includes interviews with the activists reflecting on their experiences. The freedom riders, then and now history smithsonian magazine. The freedom riders national monument is a united states national monument in anniston, alabama established by president barack obama in january 2017 to preserve and commemorate the freedom riders during the civil rights movement. Prior to the bus being firebombed, attackers broke windows.
Anniston, alabama, may 14, 1961 upi my family had left the anniston area in 1958 when my parents became southern baptist missionaries to thailand. Jan 01, 2006 this book is an amazing account of the freedom riders college students who braved jail, beatings, and indeed their lives in the summer of 1961 to desegregate interstate bus travel. Freedom riders were groups of white and african american civil rights activists who participated in freedom rides, bus trips through the american south in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals. On may 14mothers daywhen the trailways bus reached anniston, alabama, it was firebombed by a mob of klansman, who also slashed its tires and pressed against the doors trying to hold the riders inside as the bus burned.
Baptized in pcbs is a richly textured history of anniston, alabama, and the movements of chemicals, capital, and people over a century that transformed it into one of the most toxic towns in the u. Dec 21, 2008 my wife and i recently visited anniston, alabama, where i was born in 1957. Freedom riders, black and white, male and female, none of them older than 22, stepped off a bus at the montgomery greyhound station on may 20, 1961. When they arrived in anniston their bus was suddenly fenced in by a mob. Ralph abernathy was a key figure in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and beyond.
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