Fifty years ago this month, the Freedom Rides began.   While the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in interstate commerce, including bus terminals, was illegal, the laws were not being enforced.  Because the law failed to act, people of conscience, courage, and determination acted instead.

Resistance to desegregation was such that those who got on buses risked their lives.  The Freedom Riders, who were both African American and white, were arrested and attacked on the bus route.  

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This month, there are many celebrations of the Freedom Riders, including a celebration at the new Freedom Riders Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, and at a Freedom Riders Reunion and Conference in Jackson, Mississippi. There will be time for reminiscing, reflecting, and reconnecting. From honors bestowed on Congressman John Lewis at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Dinner in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, to an Oprah show featuring the Freedom Riders, to these celebrations and reunions, the contribution of the Freedom Riders will be recognized, honored, celebrated.
 

Read more at The Chicago Defender and The St. Louis American.