Civil Rights and Protests Ieshia Diaz Elyssa Servano Citlalli Prado

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Segregation

Rosa Parks

Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK Holt Street Baptist Church December 5, 1955

Freedom Rides The first freedom ride took place on May 4, 1961 and had left from Washington, D.C. with two buses on the course to the deep south It was started as a way to test the supreme court's ruling in Boynton v. Virginia which had declared segregation in interstate buses and rail stations unconstitutional. Even though this was declared it was non- enforced within the south

Freedom rides The buses consisted of the original group of 13 Freedom Riders–seven African Americans and six whites. They attempted to integrate facilities at bus terminals along the way into the Deep South. African-American Freedom Riders tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters, and vice versa. The group encountered tremendous violence from white protestors along the route, but also drew international attention to their cause. As the group brought attention to their cause more people joined them along the way.

Freedom Riders The group traveled through Virginia and North Carolina, drawing little public notice. But the first violent incident occurred on May 12 in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where John Lewis, an African- American influential member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Albert Bigelow and another African-American rider were attacked as they attempted to enter a whites-only waiting area. the Greyhound bus was the first to arrive in Anniston, Alabama. An angry mob of about 200 white people surrounded the bus, causing the driver to continue past the bus station. They followed the bus in cars, and when the tires on the bus went out, someone threw a bomb into the bus. The Freedom Riders escaped the bus as it went into flames, only to be beaten by members of the surrounding mob. The second bus, a Trailways vehicle, traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, that day, and those riders were also beaten by an angry white mob, many of whom had metal pipes. This was one of the moments that had brought more attention to their movement

Freedom Riders On May 24, 1961, a group of Freedom Riders departed Montgomery for Jackson, Mississippi. Hundreds of supporters greeted the riders, but those who tried to use the whites-only facilities were arrested for trespassing and taken to the maximum-security penitentiary in Parchman, Mississippi. During their hearings, the judge turned and looked at the wall rather than listen to the Freedom Riders’ defense, just as had been the case when sit-in participants were arrested for protesting segregated lunch counters in Tennessee. He sentenced the riders to 30 days in jail. Attorneys from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People appealed the convictions all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed them. The violence and arrests continued to gain national and international attention, and drew hundreds of new Freedom Riders to their movement. The rides continued over the next several months, and that fall the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in interstate transit terminals.

Freedoms Summer Mississippi Summer Project SNCC Plan Bring students into Mississippi What could be done? Establish freedom schools

Freedom Summer Video

Organization “Don’t come to Mississippi this summer to save the Mississippi Negro. Only come if you understand, that his freedom and yours are one.” -Bob Moses Volunteers

June 21, 1964 James, Mickey and Andrew were pulled over Arresting James for speeding Charged Mickey and Andy as suspects in the firebombing of Mount Zion Church

June 21, 1964 cont. Price wanted the 3 to be put in the same jail cell Instead jail cells were segregated “Ashes to ashes/ Dust to dust/ If you stayed where you belonged/ You wouldn’t be here with us.”