I was a member of the New Orleans CORE group. We participated in boycotts, sit-ins, picketing etc.
We began the Freedom Rides in 1961 after the first bus was bombed in Anniston, Alabama. We would board buses and ride through the south testing facilities to see if they were complying with the laws to desegregate. I nearly lost my life on a Freedom Ride when we stopped in Poplarville, Mississippi.
There are many unsung heroes that participated in this movement and if I had to get on a bus today, I would do it all again. I live in Cincinnati now and I talk to schools and groups about my experience. The Freedom Riders went through training in nonviolence. It worked then, and it could work today.
© Copyright
Webspinner:
webspinner@crmvet.org
(Labor donated)