Day 8: Saturday, June 20 (by Cynthia Wells)

Freedom Riders

Meeting with the Freedom Riders today was inspiring. The Freedom Ride was a Journey of Reconciliation coordinated by CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) with the intention strategy to test President Kennedy’s commitment to civil rights. Kennedy had vocally supported civil rights during his campaign, but his support appeared to diminish post-election. The strategy was for an inter-racial group to board buses destined for the South, with whites sitting in the back and blacks in the front. At stops, whites should sit in blacks only areas and blacks in white’s only. The Riders were largely college students, with the moral courage to put themselves in harm’s way in order to advance the cause of justice for all.

The intent was to ride from Washington D.C. to New Orleans. They didn’t make it the New Orleans, and many endured vicious beatings and prolonged jailing. They did however achieve their central objective, forcing President Kennedy to take a stand on civil rights and also leading the Interstate Commerce Commission to rule against segregation in interstate bus travel, which was more specific than the original Supreme Court mandate of 1961. The Freedom Riders identified one piece of a larger puzzle of injustice, and they set out to address that piece regardless of the cost.

When I think of the Freedom Riders, I wonder where such inter-racial change efforts are today. Of the 100 original Freedom Riders, 51 were black and 49 were white. Their message of justice was amplified by joining together. I imagine that many whites, in particular, began to rethink how their connection and commitment to the civil rights movement as a result of the Freedom Riders.

The struggle for justice continues today. Charleston. Ferguson. Baltimore. All reminders that injustice is pervasive. All moments in time that all too briefly raise our moral consciousness. How might these moments of clarity become sparks for renewed conviction accompanied by the requisite long-term energy to make and sustain real change?

So much the Freedom Riders and the larger civil rights movement can teach us as we seek to engage the issues of the present. Inter-racial dialogue. Non-violent direct action. Long-term strategic organizing. What must we do today to fulfill King’s Christian vision of the beloved community? What must each of us do? May each of us discern and find ways to address our piece of the puzzle.

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