Comparing The Sit-In And Freedom Riders

The beginning of the sit-ins were hard, but they overcame many hardships to achieve their goal. Most of their sit-ins they suffered from being attacked by white customers. They got beat up and never said a word and just dealt with it. After having their sit-ins they motivated others to do the same

It is hard to wrap my head around the fact that riding the bus can get one hurt and killed and how non-volient acts can lead to so much hate and violence. The Freedom Rides help bring attention to national level. The level of violence is extreme in response to a non-violent movement. The white supremacy was trying its best to make the colored population inferior. The segregation is a symbol of fear and hate. The press and television is a big part in the success of the movement. They help shape the public opinion toward segregation. The media brought the problem to our attention through dramatic and often disturbing photos and reports.

“Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud" (Empowering the Black Power Movement), The Sit-In movement was more effective than the Black Power movement because throughout the long course to rid the country of segregation had been widely affected by the peaceful protests. But, seeing the effects of the long path to "integration" which subsided to ongoing violent protests. Even though their main goal as a whole was integration they both took two different paths to see what would’ve been a better way to their main purpose of the movements. In the end, it took a lot to get where they are at now in society.

They were arrested and found guilty in three different court appearances. In the Wichita and Oklahoma City Sit some sat in at a lunch counter and some sat in at a drug store called Dockum Drugs. Sit ins left some of the Freedom Riders severely injured one Rider Jim Peck left the hospital with 53 stitches. The White people who weren’t associated with the Freedom Riders hated their actions and beat them until they were almost dead. Jim Peck was extremely lucky to get out alive. Just because they were beat up, wounded, and tattered they didn’t give up because it meant so much to them to become equal. Sit ins were extremely successful in a way where they caused widespread diffusion of integrating public places. Some sit INS were so dramatic every place around them got rid of segregation. The Nashville and Greensboro sit ins launched a wave of anti segregation sit ins across the South and opened a national awareness of segregation. After most sit ins the place became integrated. Sit ins were very successful in integrating the south.

Not only did the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins happen, but many other major protesting events happened too such as: Little Rock 9, Freedom Rides, Emmett Till’s murder, The Montgomery Bus Boycott, and many more (Greensboro Sit-Ins). When the sit-ins took place, the 4 black men sat at an all-white lunch counter and asked for coffee. They were told that they could not be served and that they had to leave the whites-only section. As the protests continued, the whites got more violent towards the four men. This pushed the blacks even more so to end racial inequality (Melanie Lacey). This went on for 5 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days. They were determined to end racial inequality and wanted all races to be treated equally (Greensboro

Following, on May 4, 1961, a mixed group of 13 African Americans and white civil rights activist led the Freedom Rides (Freedom Rides?). Similar, to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Freedom Rides traveled to various cities in the south to protest against segregation of the bus terminals. History.com staff concurs “the Freedom Rides, a series of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals.” The purpose of the freedom riders was to openly disobey the Jim Crow laws in the south in a nonviolent fashion. This was a dangerous journey, many of these people were beaten, arrested, and even the buses were destroyed. Yet, they persevered (“Freedom Riders: The Nashville Connection”). History.com staff, adds “The Freedom Riders, were recruited by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a U.S. civil rights group, they departed from Washington D.C., and attempted to integrate facilities at bus terminals along the way in the Deep South.” African Americans would try to use the “whites only” bathrooms and counters, which attracted attention and violence (Freedom Rides). According to the history.com staff due to the efforts of the Freedom Rides, “in September 1961, the interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in bus and train nationwide.” The

In order to achieve this, civil rights activists “used nonviolent tactics” such as “boycotts, marches and sit-ins” (Thomas). From this united black movement rose many prominent figures such as Rosa Parks who “refused to yield her seat” on bus to a white man to rebel against segregation on transportation as well as Martin Luther King Jr. who gave his famous speech and led countless marches (Kronenwetter). These individuals inspired many to come forward and join the movement. Organizations such as Congress of Racial Equality were formed and groups such as Freedom Riders and Freedom Summer took action in different states in the south to fight for equality and justice. Black power finally started to take a major step forward in the late 1950s and 1960s as the “Brown v. Board of Education ruling desegregated schools” (Thomas). The final bill proposed by Kennedy and finally signed by Johnson was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which “ended segregation in public places and employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (Thomas) and ultimately propelled black power forward. However, the civil rights movement ended abruptly when king was assassinated in 1968 (Kronenwetter). All in all, during the 1950-1960, America went through great change. The civil rights movement changed American society forever; all the blood, sweat, and sacrifice paid off as the black society gained more opportunities and improved

Freedom Riders exposed the many ways of Southern resistance by the numerous acts of violence committed towards them. Violence was experienced not from civilians, police officers and a mass of Ku Klux Klan members (KKK). The Freedom riders faced bus bombings, being beaten, and near lynching. The Freedom Riders decided to unmask what was happening in the south to showcase the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions Morgan v. Virginia in 1946 and Boynton v. Virginia in 1960, which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional.The Southern states had ignored the rulings and the federal government did nothing to enforce them. "The Riders' dangerous passage through the bus terminals and jails of the Jim Crow South represented only one part of an extended journey for justice that stretched back to the dawn of American history and beyond" (Arsenault 10). The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sponsored most of the Freedom Rides, but some were also organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The Freedom Rides consisted of dramatic sit-ins against segregated lunch counters, conducted by students and youth throughout the South, and boycotts of retail establishments that maintained segregated facilities, beginning in 1960.The Supreme Court's decision in Boynton supported the right of interstate travelers to disregard local segregation ordinances. Southern local and state police considered the actions of the Freedom Riders to be

The popularity of sit-ins can be reflected in the involvement of the N.A.A.C.P. (The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People). An article published by the New York Times talks about planned demonstrations that will occur in New York City which will be headed by the N.A.A.C.P (Robinson 54). This example shows how large the movement had become by summer 1961 because a nationally recognized organization was already actively involved in demonstrating. Another article, printed in late 1961, reports that the national director of the Congress of Racial Equality would begin planned sit-ins nation wide, with a focus in the South and the Midwest (“Negroes to Broaden” 18). This again proves how effective sit-ins were because a nationally recognized organization was taking the movement and organizing a nation wide effort to end discrimination.

The movie Freedom Riders was important to the civil rights movement, which occurred in the 1990s during time this movie took place. The aim of freedom rides “was to call attention to blatant violations of recent Supreme Court ruling against segregation in interstate commerce” (Henretta, Hinderaker, Edwards, Self). The civil rights movement was a fight for equality and police mortality. Freedom Writers takes place in the 1900s during the Watt’s Riot (LA civil rights movement). Blacks were fighting for equality and to be treated as equally as whites; they wanted less police brutality and they rioted for what they believed in.

The history of United State has shown many racial discriminations since colonists arrived America. African Americans have suffered unequal treatments and punishments in comparison to white people and European immigrants. Even when slavery was abolished in 1865, African Americans were still victims of many inequalities like employment, rights, housing, and transportation. However, due to these inequalities and mistreatments like the Jim Crow Laws, many African Americans started to make a change during the 1950’s, also called the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks, that was arrested for sitting in the front of a bus in Alabama. Rosa Parks case made the supreme court to ban segregation in public transportation. The social difference during the 1950’s was very notable and obvious, and voting was a big example of the huge discrimination suffered by African Americans and minorities. In the south, white people would take away minorities’ right to vote by making them take a test that would decide if they were or not capable to make a political decision. Fortunately, big characters like Martin Luther King vouched for the end of this inequalities. Martin Luther King played a big role in the 1960’s making everyone aware about the change that was about to come.

“Freedom Riders” were a group of people, both black and white, who were civil rights activists from the North who “meant to demonstrate that segregated travel on interstate buses, even though banned by an I.C.C. Ruling, were still being enforced throughout much of the South” (The South 16). The Riders attempted to prove this by having a dozen or so white and black Freedom Riders board buses in the North and travel through Southern cities. This was all “a coldly calculated attempt to speed up integration by goading the South, forcing the Southern extremists to explode their tempers” ('Freedom Riders' 20). The author of the Newsweek article stated this as the Southern opinion of the reason for the Freedom Riders. The

The Civil Rights Movement’s mission was to end segregation and advance equality for African Americans (Hanks, Herzog, and Goetzman). Almost one hundred years after the civil war, African Americans were still struggling to gain the same rights as white Americans. The movement was led by leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks. Gaining momentum in the 1950’s with the Supreme court’s ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education where public schools were desegregated, the Civil Rights movement flourished in the 1960’s. One of the group’s main goals was to take on the Jim Crow South. Segregation prevented African Americans from drinking out of the same water fountain, using the same restroom, and even sitting at the same lunch table as white people. By promoting peaceful protest, they were able to educate others on their issues.

The Civil Rights Movement was a pivotal time in American history, leading us toward the acceptance and advancement of African Americans in society, and eventually the same for other minority groups. The movement as a whole spanned from around the beginning of the 1950’s to around the beginning of the 1970’s. All across the nation, African American people fought for their rights through numerous protests and boycotts. Some notable events are the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, and the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins. Many forms of legislation and many judiciary decisions were made during this era, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1968, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Brown v. Board of Education (“A Timeline of the Civil Rights Movement FOOTSTEPS OF COURAGE”).

Another significant transformation took place in the Civil Rights Movement in terms of its strategies. In analyzing this facet of the movement, we notice a great shift from nonviolent demonstration to forward, forceful action. Specifically, at the start of the Civil Rights Movement, lunch counter sit-ins were evident throughout the nation, as were Freedom Riders. Starting in Greensboro, North Carolina at a luncheonette called Woolworths, young black citizens would seat