American Experience.Eyes on the Prize.Primary Sources. Primary Sources return to index Berkeley student John Dolan joined CORE in 1960 and, when the call went out for more Freedom Riders in late spring of the following year, he decided to head to the South.
Reactions from those close to him were mixed; as he put it, "My father disinherited me. My mother was worried about my safety. My friends in college supported me. My older friends from high school were concerned I might become a communist. " Dolan was arrested and jailed in Mississippi and Louisiana, and was beaten by the New Orleans police. He saved this letter from his father, in which the father expresses disappointment at his son's decision. John, It is now 1:30 a.m., but I have been unable to sleep so will kill the time by writing you. Upon my return home this evening I found your note, together with your drums and other items. Your group has received excellent publicity in all bay area newspapers, so any attempt to keep this episode quiet is utterly impossible. Your Father. WGBH American Experience . Freedom Riders. Story Corner: Freedom Riders. Printer-friendly version An angry mob beat the Freedom Riders when they arrived in Montgomery.
How do you explain that to second-graders? Have you ever taken a ride on an airplane? These days, when people want to travel a long way, they take an airplane. But once, not so long ago really, only rich people flew in airplanes. Back then, if you came here — to the Montgomery Greyhound station — you'd see lots of people coming in and out. See that old, bricked-up doorway there? A lot of people knew this was ridiculous. So one day, a group of young people — both black and white — decided they would change things. It wasn't easy. Before the Freedom Riders even got to Montgomery, someone stopped them and set fire to their bus. When they got to Birmingham, an angry mob beat them. But they didn't stop. The angry mob thought they had won. That's why there are bricks filling this doorway that used to say "Colored Entrance. " And this bricked-up door will never, ever be opened again. Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement.
Freedom Rides of 1961 Articles & Documents Photos Articles & Narratives by Freedom Ride Participants Freedom Rides of 1961 (CRMVets) [PDF]Freedom Rides (CRMVets: Timeline & History)Chronology of the Freedom Rides of May 1961, Howard ZinnThe Freedom Riders, Robert McAfee Brown & Frank Randal (CORE Pamphlet)Freedom Rides, New South, 1961 (Multiple articles)Freedom Riders Speak For Themselves, News & Letters, 1961.
(Multiple Articles)The White Problem, Albert Bigelow. Liberation, 1961.The Freedom Rides: Were They in Vain? Documents Support flyers, Chicago. See also Freedom Rides for web links. The map below is from an Associated Press article in February 1962. Note that the map shows only a few of the more than 60 Freedom Rides that criss-crossed the South between May and November of 1961. Freedom Rider 50th Anniv. 50th Anniversary, Chicago, IL. For more information: Books: Freedom Rides Web: Freedom Rides Submissions Policy. Freedom Summer. Freedom Riders - Democracy in Action.