Freedom Ride History

On May 4, 1961, the first Freedom Rides began, founded by James Farmer, Marvin Rich, Gordon Carey, and Jim McCain. Gathering twelve to fourteen people and travel from Virginia to Alabama, to promote nonviolence through a sit-in movement was their plan. Dr. Walter and Frances Bergman, Reverend B. Elton Cox, James Peck, Hank Thomas, Albert Bigelow, John Lewis, Genevieve Hughes, Joe Perkins, and Ed Blankenheim were recruited for this movement and sent to Washington, D.C. for intensive training. This Freedom Ride lasted until the end of April, and participating wasn’t a piece of cake, it took serious dedication and, ultimately, preparation to board on the ride. You could see the tremendous difference of hatred throughout the different states. …show more content…
In North Carolina, there were signs posted, but the rules were not enforced. When they entered South Carolina, things became a little rough. The southern hate prevailed and while at Rock Hill, the first stop in South Carolina, John Lewis tried to enter a for “whites only” waiting room and was immediately hit with discrimination. John Lewis told the ignorant, young man that he had a right to go inside the room because of the Supreme Court decision in the Boynton Case. This case, Boynton vs. Virginia, overturned a judgment convicting an African American law student for trespassing by being in a restaurant in a bus terminal which was "whites