On 4 May 1961, 13 Freedom Riders left Washington, D.C., in two buses and headed to New Orleans to challenge segregation in the South. The violence they braved propelled the activists to national prominence and forever changed the face of the civil rights movement. | The Legal Defense Fund

They faced firebombing, mob violence, and arrest as they traveled through the South to end segregation on interstate buses. John Lewis was one of them. This is the story of the Freedom Riders. | Brut

🗓#OTD in 1961, the original Freedom Riders left Washington DC and began their demonstration. Among the 13 original Freedom Riders was civil rights activist and future congressman John Lewis. Learn about the heinous 1961 KKK attack on the Freedom Riders. 🎥America in Color: The 1960s | Smithsonian Channel

The Freedom Riders were groups of African American and white civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the South in 1961 to protest segregation in public transportation facilities. Their goal was to challenge Jim Crow laws that enforced segregation in bus terminals and other public spaces. The Freedom Rides drew national attention to the civil rights movement, leading to the eventual desegregation of interstate travel. Visit our Black History Book Series >> 📚📕✊🏽 📙 Visit our Black