Freedom Riders
Stars: 5/5
Before those who Marched on Washington, there were the Freedom Riders of 1961. Before Rosa Parks of 1955, there was Irene Morgan of 1944. Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia was the Supreme Court case that started it all; it’s ruling allowed for desegregated bus travel for interstate bus travelers. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) first attempted a ‘Journey of Reconciliation’ in 1947 which tested the Supreme Court decision. The more robust Freedom Rides across the Deep South came later.
Arsenault does a superb job of covering end-to-end the transformative nature of the Freedom Rides; the first large-scale nonviolent direct action civil rights movement. The entire cast, the organizers, the Kennedy Administration and the staunch Southern segregationists are all on display here. As for the diverse band of individuals called the Freedom Riders “…the greater the hardship, the more committed they seemed to be”, you will discover that their commitment and courage is unmatched on any level. Unbeknownst to them, their attempt in 1961 to speed up the slow gradualism of racial equality, became the blueprint for future nonviolent civil rights action.
Companion DVD: American Experience: Freedom Riders [Blu-ray]
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