![]() In Anniston, Alabama, a mob of about 200 Klu Klux Klansmen firebombed the bus as police watched. The further south the Freedom Riders went, the more vicious the attacks. Among them, a 21-year-old John Lewis, the future congressman. Three riders were viciously attacked for trying to use the “whites only” restroom. The first few stops were uneventful until they reached Rock Hill, South Carolina. A small group of 13 Black and white members of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality, set out from Washington D.C., heading to New Orleans on what was supposed to be a two-week ride to challenge the Jim Crow Laws of the south. Blood was shed and lives were nearly lost as their non-violent protest was met with brutal beatings and jail. But interstate bus travel remained segregated in the south until the Freedom Rides of 1961. In 1955, Rosa Parks helped integrate the Montgomery, Alabama bus system when she refused to give up her seat. The freedom to sit where you want or to use any bathroom you choose wasn’t always an option for Blacks when traveling. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
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