The Freedom Rides in America begain in May 1961.  The riders were volunteers: 13 activists from the: 
- Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
- Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

The activists left from Washington DC and travelled through the southern states of:
Virginia,
North & South Carolina,
Georgia,
Alabama 
Missouri &
Louisiana where they had a planned rally.

While travelling through these states, the whites response was often violent and full of hate.  White mobs carried baseball bats, bicycle chains and iron bars.  Near Anniston, Alabama on 14 May 1961, a white mob smashed the bus windows, slashed the tyres and later firebombed the bus.  Several Freedom Riders were badly injured.  Violence continued over subsequent rides with state authorities doing little to intervene.

Although Martin Luther King never joined the Freedom Riders' campaign, he became one of thier major spokespeople.  When a 3000-strong mob blockaded the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama where King was rallying support for the campaign, authorities responded only when US Attorney General Robert Kennedy mobilised the National Guard who dispersed the mob with tear gas.

Results of the Freedom Rides

The Freedom Rides and the violent responses to them resulted in international media attention, embrarrassing the US government.  Although federal laws existed that ruled segregation illegal, some states ignored them, particularly in the south.  The Freedom Rides continued until the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) forced bus companies to introduce desegregation.  The goals of the campaign - to create headline news internationally and to gain publicity for the civil right movement - were in large part achieved.  Civil disobedience had proved a powerful way to protest against racist policies and effect change.