After spending time at the very moving Museum of the Cherokee Indian in the town of Cherokee, North Carolina, Steven and I drove to Montgomery, Alabama, and luckily reached the Freedom Rides Museum shortly before it closed. The lone staffer on duty kindly said we could stay as long as we wanted. Located in the old Greyhound bus station, it was the site where 21 brave people arrived to peacefully protest racial segregation on public transportation in May of 1961.
During and after WW II, the NAACP and other civil rights groups brought several legal battles to Jim Crow laws before the Supreme Court. Though the Court ruled in two cases, in 1947 and 1960, segregated seating on interstate buses and in bus terminal waiting rooms was illegal, these decisions weren't enforced in the southern US.
After the first decision, members of a civil rights group set out in 1947 on a Journey of Reconciliation to test out the verdict on buses and stations in the upper South.
Years later, on May 1st, 1961, 13 volunteers comprised of 7 Blacks and 6 Whites, 8 Southerners and 5 Northerners, gathered in Washington, DC, to travel by bus in two interracial groups to the segregated South by the seventh anniversary of the Brown v Board of Education decision on May 17th. These first Freedom Riders who ranged in age from 18-61 left three days later after some intense training in nonviolence. This was the statement each Rider signed before traveling.
This was their planned route from Washington to Alabama.
Segregation had been allowed to continue because state and local governments had many ways to work around federal Civil Rights rulings. Local laws allowed drivers where it was 'safest' to sit and refused to require bus companies how to do business. Another way segregation continued was to label protesters as 'disruptive' and disturbing the peace as many prominent cases had been based on trespassing or disturbing the peace.
The Riders met with respected civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta who publicly praised their bravery but was concerned about the wisdom of continuing into Alabama because of the likely threat of violent resistance. However, the Riders were determined to continue their experiment in nonviolent direct action in the heart of the Deep South despite King's fears and the obvious risks.
One of the Riders spoke to a group of fellow Riders and supporters in Sumter, South Carolina, as the Riders took a two-day break and attempted to recruit others.
May 14th: As King foretold, the Riders met with violence in Anniston, Alabama, when a mob slashed the bus tires and 50 cars filled with Klansmen followed the bus. When the driver pulled over to inspect the damage several miles outside of town, a gas bomb was thrown through a broken window. Fortunately, all the passengers were able to escape even after several members of the mob tried to bar the door in an attempt to trap the Riders inside the burning bus. Two state troopers restored order and dispersed the mob as the Freedom Riders collapsed on the ground and gasped for air.
Though the Greyhound bus was destroyed, the Trailways bus the other group of Freedom Riders was traveling on made it through to Birmingham, Alabama. But a mob of white supremacists confronted the protesters at the station. As the police had agreed not to assist the Riders for fifteen minutes, they, reporters, and bystanders were severely beaten.
May 17th: When the Freedom Riders failed in their attempt to complete their ride in New Orleans, Louisiana, many Americans were relieved the provocative action had ended. But a group of young activists from Nashville, Tennessee was determined not to allow violence to win and vowed to continue the Freedom Rides with "fresh troops." Twenty-one new volunteers left Nashville bound for New Orleans via Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, and Jackson, Mississippi.
Despite an agreement reached between US Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Governor Patterson, officials in Montgomery withdrew police protection just before the bus arrived at the Montgomery Greyhound bus station where we were. The ensuing riot sent several Freedom Riders to hospital.
A Klan member who was an off-duty police officer was photographed kicking a reporter outside this station.
Even after the bloody riots, the Riders vowed they were ready to die for their cause and beliefs. The late US Congressman John Lewis was one of the bloodied Riders. A fellow Black Riders was left untreated for an hour as ambulance drivers refused to take him to a hospital.
May 21st-22nd: While the Riders and nearly 1500 supporters filled Montgomery's First Baptist Church, thousands of White supremacists gathered outside and threw rocks, bricks, and Molotov cocktails at the church. The 400 federal marshals assigned to protect the Riders were insufficient as the church came under siege.
Martin Luther King, Jr., called Attorney General Kennedy in DC from the siege at the church, pleading for more federal assistance.
After Governor Patterson refused federal military intervention, he declared martial law and sent in Alabama National Guardsmen to patrol outside the church.
Though peace was finally restored in the early hours of May 22nd, images and reports of the violence spread throughout the nation and around the world. Alabama became synonymous as the flashpoint of the civil rights struggle and the Freedom Rides were considered a symbol of American hypocrisy.
May 22nd-23rd: Following the riots and siege in Montgomery, there was a serious debate for two days about whether the Rides should continue, who should participate, when should they leave and where should they go. Though there were still concerns about the potential for violence and questions about the government's ability and commitment to enforcing their constitutional rights, the group decided to proceed to Mississippi and announced their decision at a press conference.
May 24th-25th: Representatives of the Kennedy administration, in an attempt to end the crisis, urged Southern governors to guarantee the Riders safe passage from Alabama to Mississippi.
The photo depicted one of the brave Freedom Riders and a Mississippi National Guardsman on the first bus from Montgomery to the Mississippi capital of Jackson in May 1961.
After two groups of Freedom Riders arrived in Jackson however, they were immediately arrested by state authorities and charged with 'breach of peace.'
May 26th-30th: To show there was no shortage of reinforcements for the arrested Riders in Jackson, new volunteers were sent from Nashville. The movement also heated up as civil rights leaders in New York unveiled a plan to expand the nonviolent initiative to include rail and air terminals. White segregationists in the South faced the unwelcome prospect of an increasingly diverse array of Freedom Riders.
May 29th: Prospective Freedom Riders across the country like these in New Orleans, Louisiana, volunteered to join the nonviolent movement.
After Riders were arrested in Jackson, fellow Riders changed their tactics from moving on to New Orleans to a "Jail, No Bail" strategy, hoping to fill Mississippi's jails. From summer and into fall, more than 400 people boarded trains, planes, and buses to challenge segregation laws and practices in the Deep South. Most of the organized rides came from just three cities, Montgomery, Nashville, and New Orleans, and proceeded to Jackson. The last bus arrived from New Orleans on September 13th with 15 Episcopal clergy on board. By then, more than 300 Riders had been sent to the city and county jails and also at the notorious maximum-security unit of the Parchman Prison.
September 22nd: The Freedom Riders finally triumphed when the Interstate Commerce Commission declared that Jim Crow signs had to be removed from bus stations by November 1st and every interstate bus had to post a certificate "Seating aboard this vehicle is without regard to race, color, creed, or national origin, by order of the Interstate Commerce Commission."
Years ago Steven and I visited one of the Nazi concentration camps in Poland and I remember being affected by the sight of thousands of shoes the Jews had been forced to leave before being gassed. This sight of old, battered suitcases likely used by some Freedom Riders told a tale, too, of bravery and hope for a different future.
With the Commission's ruling, the Freedom Riders had won a major national victory - no longer did Black Americans have to sit separately or use different restaurants and waiting rooms. As King said, the Freedom Rides were "a psychological turning point in our whole struggle." The bus station was a testament to ordinary people who chose to do an extraordinary thing by risking their lives and freedom to bring justice to the country.
Outside, above what was once a doorway we could see holes from a sign that had read "Colored Entrance." In 1961, colored people could only use this entrance to walk on a bus platform to a "colored" waiting room at the back of the station. It had its own "colored" restrooms, a "colored" lunchroom, and a "colored" ticket window. The rigid separation of the races in Montgomery and throughout Alabama meant people could be arrested by going through the wrong door, ticket counter, or restaurant.
The Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church was the second Black Baptist church in Montgomery and was constructed in 1885. While Rev. Martin Luther King served as the pastor from 1954-1960, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized here in December of 1955.
A sign indicated the gas light was to honor Dr. King and the leaders of the civil rights movement that changed Montgomery, Alabama, and the world.
Just outside the church was this beautiful view of the Mississippi state capitol but our visit to its interior would have to wait until another time as it was closed on Sundays.
Steven and I had rarely, if ever, seen a city as large as Montgomery that was so totally dead even if it was on a Sunday afternoon. There was no danger from my standing in the middle of a major intersection to take these shots in each direction. It was quite eerie, wondering where everybody was.
Since the Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971, it has been known for its cases against White supremacists, its classification of hate groups and other extremist organizations, and for promoting tolerance education programs. In front of the center was the very moving Civil Rights Memorial designed by Maya Lin who also designed the Vietnam War Memorial in DC.
The memorial featured a round, black granite table covered by a thin sheet of flowing water. Inscribed on the table was a chronological list of key civil rights struggles that have occurred in this country.
As I write this post now almost exactly ten months later, I look with anticipation of our return visit to Montgomery in just ten days so we can revisit the capitol building and enter it for the first time even though Steven and I have been to Montgomery twice before.
As I have gobs and gobs of posts still to write before finding time to write of next week's visit, these photos will have to do until who knows when!
If you've been reading some of the other capitol posts, you'll recognize this as a reproduction Liberty Bell that each state was sent!
Across the street from the south side of the statehouse was the First White House of the Confederacy. Built from 1832-1835 in the Italianate style, it was home to President Jefferson Davis and his family until the Confederate Capital moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 1861.
Having just spent an emotional hour or so taking in all the events that led up to the Freedom Riders coming to the Montgomery bus station and learning about the important role of the First Baptist Church in the struggle for civil rights, it made sense to also visit the church.
After a fire had destroyed the first building on this site, parishioners were each asked to donate a brick for the new Romanesque Revival style church that was built from 1910-1915. Its estimated membership of 5,000 in 1916 made it the largest Black church in the country. The church has had an important role in the struggle for civil rights. It and the parsonage were bombed in 1957; later that year, it hosted the first Institute on Non-Violence and Social Change and sponsored the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Looking at the church's front door, I could almost feel the tear gas the Freedom Riders and their supporters experienced on finally leaving the church after being held captive inside for 15 hours in May of 1961.
On a much lighter note was this statue in the attractive Riverfront section of the city to singer and Alabama native Hank Williams best known for his lovesick ballads such as Your Cheatin' Heart. How sad that he died at the age of just 30.
If you're a Nat King Cole fan, these photos of the Unforgettable mural are for you!
Nathaniel Cole was born in Montgomery in 1919 and became an American jazz pianist and vocalist who recorded over 100 songs. He was the first Black to host an American TV show. He recorded Unforgettable in 1951 and remixed it 40 years later to sing it as a duet with his daughter, Natalie. Their duet won three Grammys in 1992.
Next post: Our two-week respite from traveling around much of the Southeast in our little piece of heaven, Grayton Beach State Park on Florida's Panhandle. I just snuck a peek at the photos from last September and October as Steven and I will be back there again in just a couple of weeks. I wonder how much our 'home away from home' might have changed since last year - we hope not much except for the miserable dog flies!
Posted at long last on July 24th, 2021, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a way station for us as we finally head to the beach at Gulf Shores, Alabama, tomorrow afternoon. We're keeping our fingers crossed this time that we'll finally be able to take possession of the condo we rented last fall as the owner double booked it and we've been bopping around Mississippi and Louisiana for several days until the other tenants left!
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