1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Dowdy and I'm doubling and chokoate boarding. And 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: you could be forgiven for thinking it's nineteen sixty one 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 1: again with all of the big civil rights anniversaries that 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,800 Speaker 1: have been in the news this year, fiftieth anniversaries, that's 7 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: so true, um, most notably the fiftieth anniversary of the 8 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: Freedom Rides this past May, when more than four hundred 9 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: people of all ages, male, female, black, white, different religions 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: from all over the country decided to challenge the racial 11 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: segregation of interstate buses. Yeah, and the Freedom Rides have 12 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,279 Speaker 1: been really well covered this year. There have been articles, 13 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:52,560 Speaker 1: news stories, two reunions of riders, one in Jackson, Mississippi, 14 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: one in Chicago. I think that one was hosted by 15 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: Oprah herself. There was a fantastic American experience Dock and 16 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: Entery based on the book on the Freedom Writers by 17 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: Raymond Arsenal. There have been op eds and reflections from 18 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: the writers and national papers. But we are not ones 19 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: to let the May anniversary of the Freedom Ride stop 20 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: us from doing a podcast on them in September, because 21 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: September is also a really important date for the Freedom Rides. 22 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: It's when change actually happened, when the Interstate Commerce Commission 23 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: finally ruled that the sign segregating whites and blacks at 24 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: bus and train facilities had to come down and actually 25 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:38,559 Speaker 1: backed up that ruling with a really hefty fine for offenders. 26 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: So that ruling validated the Riders in their tactics, and 27 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: that's worth pointing out before we get into this two 28 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: part episode on the Freedom Rides, and before we get 29 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: into how the ride started, because even though today the 30 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: riders are clearly celebrated as civil rights heroes, at the time, 31 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: what they were doing was extremely troversial, even within the 32 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: civil rights movement itself. So they didn't know what they 33 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: were what they were setting out to do. They just 34 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:09,079 Speaker 1: knew they had to do it. Yeah, But before we 35 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: even get to the rides themselves, our story really starts 36 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty four with a woman named Irene Morgan. 37 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,079 Speaker 1: Now everyone knows Rosa Parks Right and her refusal to 38 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,679 Speaker 1: give up her bus seat in the nineteen fifties, but 39 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: a decade earlier, Morgan refused to give up her seat 40 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: on a Greyhound traveling through Virginia, and Morgan, who made 41 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 1: World War Two bomber planes for a plant for a living, 42 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: was coming home to Baltimore after visiting her mother. So 43 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,960 Speaker 1: after refusing to move, she kicked the sheriff's deputy who 44 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: tried to take her off the bus. And later she said, quote, 45 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: I started to bite him, but he looked dirty, so 46 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: I couldn't bite him. So all I could do was 47 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: claw and tear his clothes. Yeah, and that and other 48 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,959 Speaker 1: great quotes are from her New York Times obituary. But 49 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,239 Speaker 1: Morgan was arrested and went ahead paid that one hundred 50 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: dollar fine for resisting arrest, but she refused to pay 51 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: a the ten dollar fine for violating a Virginia law 52 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: about segregated seating, So it was off to court she went, 53 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: and eventually the n double a c p. Took up 54 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: her case and appealed to the Supreme Court, and in 55 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 1: ninety the court actually ruled in her favor in Morgan 56 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,519 Speaker 1: Versus Virginia, and um just the gist of the ruling here. 57 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 1: Seating arrangements for the different races in interstate motor travel 58 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: require a single uniform rule to promote and protect national travel. 59 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: Sounds simple enough. Basically, you can't make African Americans sit 60 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: in the back of the bus and white people sit 61 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: in the front, and nobody should be giving up their 62 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: seat unless just to an old person or something like that. 63 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: So it sounds simple, but it wasn't because Southern states 64 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 1: continued to flaunt the law with segregated seating, segregated waiting rooms, restrooms, 65 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: water fountains. So eventually somebody decided that they needed to 66 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: do something and actually test out this new law, and 67 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: that was a group organized by the Congress of Racial 68 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: Equality or CORE and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. They decided 69 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: to test the new ruling by staging the Journey of 70 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: Reconciliation through the Upper South. The Upper South. Yeah, and 71 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: that's important here, especially when we get into the later 72 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: Freedom Rides where they head into Alabama in Mississippi and 73 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: and things get a lot different. Back in nine seven, 74 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,280 Speaker 1: they knew that wasn't an option, right, So basically this 75 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: is how it worked. Eight black men and eight white 76 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: men would ride on interstate buses and trains and see 77 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: if Morgan versus Virginia was a law in action or 78 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: in name only. So there was a catch though it 79 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 1: would be non violent. Even if they were faced with 80 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: arrests or beatings, the writers would not react. So while 81 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: Morgan had been the inspiration for this, she was obviously 82 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,599 Speaker 1: not their non violent role model, with her attempted bites 83 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:57,599 Speaker 1: and all of that. I think that makes Morgan such 84 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: an interesting character in this whole thing, too, which such 85 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: a famous non violent movement, that she is the inspiration 86 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: for it. But for that non violent inspiration, leaders instead 87 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: turned to Gandhi and he actually was the inspiration for 88 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 1: Courts Founding back in nineteen two. But the Journey of Reconciliation, 89 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: it sounds like it's gonna make waves. It sounds like 90 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 1: a big deal, but it really didn't have that much 91 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,280 Speaker 1: of an impact. The writers did meet with violence, three 92 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: of them spent a month on a North Carolina chain 93 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 1: gang after violating segregation rules in Chapel Hill, but the 94 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: story wasn't really picked up by national media, and folks 95 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: just weren't that interested. So Arsenal writes that the ride 96 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: ultimately quote brought about little change and was soon forgotten 97 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: by all but a handful of non violent activists. So 98 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,600 Speaker 1: a decade goes by, and then in nineteen sixties, some 99 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: important things start to happen to inspire a new wave 100 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 1: of freedom rides. One of those things is that JFK 101 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: is elected president. Another is that Nashville sit ins and 102 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 1: segregation at city lunch counters there. And also the Supreme 103 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,040 Speaker 1: Court issues another decision related to interstate travel. This time 104 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: it's a point in versus Virginia, which made any racial 105 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: segregation illegal in interstate commerce. And that's anything. So not 106 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: only should a black person be able to take any 107 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: seat on the bus, he should also be able to 108 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: use any waiting room, restroom, coffee counter, and so on. 109 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: All Right, so there's a new Supreme Court decision and 110 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: this momentum going from the Nashville sit ins, and Core 111 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: and its director James Farmer decide, let's test this new 112 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: ruling boy in versus Virginia. So this time, not only 113 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: would the new writers keep that direct action movement of 114 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: the Siddens going, they would help promote CORE too on 115 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,040 Speaker 1: this national scale, since it was, after all, less well 116 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: known than the N double A c P or SNIC 117 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:56,600 Speaker 1: or the SCLC. And that's something, as we mentioned in 118 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,160 Speaker 1: the beginning, that this was kind of controversial within the 119 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: movement that was something that added to the ambivalence or 120 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: sometimes outright hostility directed at the initial ride by much 121 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: of the movement um. But we've got to give you 122 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: a sense of how these initial core riders were picked, 123 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: because they weren't just willy nilly passengers on the bus. 124 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: They all had to be trained, they all had to 125 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: come with recommendations even and again they all kind of 126 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,559 Speaker 1: came from different sort of facets of life. One member, 127 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: James Peck, was from Manhattan and he had participated in 128 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: the nineteen forties Journey of Reconciliation, so he had some 129 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: experience with this. The others were handpicked to maintain their 130 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: non violent directive. So in addition to having to get recommendations, 131 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: as Sarah said, the youngest of them also had to 132 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: get parental permission. They also underwent careful training to resist 133 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: that violent impulse, but really they only anticipated refusal of 134 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: service and possibly maybe arrest. You can see videos though, 135 00:07:57,320 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: of this training, and it's pretty fascinating to watch and 136 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: really uncomfortable because you know, it is a simulated situation 137 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: and these people actually all know each other. Well, there's 138 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: the man playing the antagonizer, the woman playing the waitress, 139 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: and it's it's strange to see. But as you mentioned, 140 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: they were from all different walks of life. They were 141 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: all ages, all professions, students, retirees, editors, was a folk singer, 142 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: and most were from the North or the Midwest, with 143 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: a few southern exceptions, including probably the most famous writer, 144 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: John Lewis, who was from Alabama. UM. But that's something 145 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:35,319 Speaker 1: also to consider when we were mentioning earlier about the 146 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: hostility or ambivalence within the movement, that these people were 147 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: largely Northerners, were largely Midwesterners, and they were coming into 148 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 1: the South to to test these segregated Jim Crow rules. 149 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,839 Speaker 1: So the first riders left May fourth, nineteen sixty one. 150 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:55,439 Speaker 1: They were departing from Washington, d C. And ultimately the 151 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:59,679 Speaker 1: final destination was going to be New Orleans, which it's 152 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: above thride. That was going to take a while, and 153 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: they didn't really know what they would encounter along the way. 154 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: But the bus started out winding its way through Virginia 155 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: and North Carolina. There were thirteen riders. They were taking 156 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: Greyhound and Trailways buses, so two different lines, just testing 157 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: out the whole range of the system. And at first 158 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,719 Speaker 1: they really saw what they expected stations would sort of 159 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 1: reluctantly break from their segregationist policies just while the riders 160 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:31,440 Speaker 1: were there, So just go ahead and let them sit 161 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 1: in the black sitting room or the white sitting room, 162 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: whatever race they weren't, let them use the wrong restroom, 163 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,439 Speaker 1: whatever they were doing, and then just um let them be, 164 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: Let them get on their bus and move on through town, 165 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 1: get out of their hair, and presumably return to business 166 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:53,920 Speaker 1: as usual, which was full on segregation. But by Charlotte, 167 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 1: North Carolina, that wasn't what was happening anymore. People weren't 168 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 1: just letting it slide until they were gone. Troubles arted. 169 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,160 Speaker 1: There were arrests and beatings in rock Hill, South Carolina, 170 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: and by May thirteenth, the writers finally made it to Atlanta, 171 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: where they had this little get together sort of pause 172 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: in the ride planned with Dr Martin Luther King. Yeah, 173 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:18,719 Speaker 1: and they were really hoping that when they got there 174 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,520 Speaker 1: he would join in become a freedom writer with them, 175 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: but instead he took a very different attitude. He warned them, 176 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: He told them that he had heard bad news coming 177 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: out of Alabama and they should seriously reconsider continuing on 178 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: and even questioning the wisdom of what they were doing 179 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:39,199 Speaker 1: in the first place, whether this was really helping the movement. 180 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,560 Speaker 1: So this is pretty discouraging news to hear it their 181 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: Atlanta reception, and to make matters worse, James Farmer, the 182 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: leader of Core, gets word that his father has died 183 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 1: and has to pull out for a few days to 184 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 1: go home. Still though, May fourteen, Mother's Day, the leaderless 185 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: writer set off from Atlanta to Brmingham, Alabama, on Greyhound 186 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: and Trailways buses that are leaving one hour apart. And 187 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: sure enough, shortly after crossing the Alabama state line, one 188 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:14,679 Speaker 1: of the buses runs into trouble. The Greyhound hits a 189 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,599 Speaker 1: crowd of about two hundred men in Anniston. Yeah, and 190 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: it's all been planned. A klansman lies down in front 191 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: of the bus so that the other members of the 192 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: mob can slash the tires, and the bus maneuvers out 193 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,200 Speaker 1: of town, but it's followed and hounded by a car. 194 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,719 Speaker 1: Then finally the tires go flat. The driver gets out, 195 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,679 Speaker 1: checks them and walks away, just leaves the people on 196 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,199 Speaker 1: the bus. And there's this really harrowing scene in the 197 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: documentary where passenger may Francis Moultrie. Here someone shouting where 198 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: is the gas? Where is the gas? Yeah, I'd really 199 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:49,080 Speaker 1: recommend to that documentary for seeing some of these freedom 200 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: writers reflect on it and and say what they heard 201 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: and what they experienced. But the mob attacks the bus 202 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: then and throws a firebomb in through the back window 203 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:02,880 Speaker 1: and then block the door to prevent the people from 204 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:05,719 Speaker 1: getting off. And also keep in mind there aren't just 205 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:09,200 Speaker 1: freedom writers on this bus. They're regular passengers to who 206 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,160 Speaker 1: are just trying to get to Birmingham or wherever and 207 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 1: are caught up in this. Two things ultimately saved the 208 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 1: riders and those unaffiliated bus passengers. The fuel tank explodes, 209 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,599 Speaker 1: which makes the mob back away from the bus, and 210 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: then highway patrolman finally arrived, but not until the coughing, 211 00:12:29,559 --> 00:12:32,559 Speaker 1: choking passengers who have just escaped from the bus are 212 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:37,199 Speaker 1: beaten by the crowd. There's one catch though with this, 213 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 1: With this violent scene, photographs are taken and it becomes 214 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:45,880 Speaker 1: a major news story and they go worldwide, not just 215 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 1: a national news story, becomes worldwide news something terrible happening 216 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:55,559 Speaker 1: in the United States. But meanwhile, that second bus is 217 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:59,600 Speaker 1: still chugging on toward Birmingham. Yeah where, Little did they 218 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:03,480 Speaker 1: know the city's Commissioner of Public Safety, Bowl Connor, has 219 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:06,719 Speaker 1: made a deal with the KKK. The deal is that 220 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,559 Speaker 1: when the bus comes to town, the clan will get 221 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,079 Speaker 1: fifteen minutes without police interference to do whatever they want. 222 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,199 Speaker 1: People on the bus, no arrests, no trouble at all. 223 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: And there's another catch to this too. The FBI had 224 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,320 Speaker 1: an informant and the clan, and he knew the plan 225 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,360 Speaker 1: to attack the bus. Jed Grew Hoover didn't report the 226 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:29,160 Speaker 1: mob's plans to Attorney General Robert Kennedy. The informant even 227 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:31,920 Speaker 1: participated when the mob attacked and beat the writers as 228 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:33,959 Speaker 1: they came into the station. And we're going to talk 229 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,360 Speaker 1: about that a little more in the part two of 230 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: this episode, and and some of the legal battles that ensued. 231 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 1: But just like an Aniston, photographers get pictures of this 232 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 1: mob attacking the passengers coming from Atlanta, and this news 233 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: makes international headlines too. It's very disturbing to people, and 234 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:01,480 Speaker 1: it's something that UM, the Federal administer ration, really can't ignore. 235 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:06,040 Speaker 1: So Jim Peck, who has been unofficially in charge since 236 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: James Farmer left, makes the call to continue the ride 237 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: from the hospital. He has been severely beaten. And it's 238 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: worth noting here too that a lot of the white 239 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: riders would be targeted initially sort of as betrayers to 240 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 1: their race by the mobs. So Jim Peck was really 241 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 1: really bad off. Pictures of him are disturbing to see, 242 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 1: but he said that they felt, quote, they must not 243 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: surrender to violence. So let's not stop here. There's a 244 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: problem though, Like, I mean, that's a very noble, brave 245 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 1: thing to do to try to continue the ride, but 246 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: there's a problem. None of the drivers out of Birmingham 247 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 1: are willing to take them. Nobody wants to risk it. 248 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 1: Nobody wants to risk being on a firebomb bus or 249 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: attacked by a mob and and dragged down with the 250 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: rest of them. Yeah, I mean, you can hardly blame them. 251 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: But they finally decide that the ride has to end. 252 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: They'll fly to New Orleans instead, but even that proves 253 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,640 Speaker 1: to be quite difficult. The mob follows them, a bomb 254 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: threat is called in on their plane, and it seems 255 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 1: that they're stuck in Alabama and definitely can't get out 256 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,680 Speaker 1: of the Birmingham airport. So, like we said, by this 257 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: point that Kennedy's really have to get involved with this 258 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 1: story all over the world's papers, and the poor beaten 259 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,160 Speaker 1: freedom riders stuck in the airport. They can't let things 260 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: get anywhere. So John Seigenthaler, who was the assistant to 261 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:30,440 Speaker 1: Attorney General Robert Kennedy, arranges the rider's flight and escorts 262 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: them to New Orleans. They're they're met by state police 263 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: at the plane who protect them but also curse them 264 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: as they walk to the terminal, and that ends the ride. 265 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: It's over. The Kennedy think that hopefully it's all over, 266 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:49,480 Speaker 1: um they can get back to international pursuits, but it's 267 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: not because there is another wave setting out from Nashville. 268 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: The students in the Nashville Student Movement realized that they 269 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:04,000 Speaker 1: could let Cores attempt and there end in violence. And 270 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: the leader of that movement, Diane Nash, who was a 271 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: student in the Nashville movement, told of Birmingham reverend quote, 272 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:15,840 Speaker 1: if they stop us with violence, the movement is dead. 273 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 1: So there a little cliffhanger for this episode. Yeah, and 274 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 1: the next episode, we're gonna talk a little bit more 275 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:25,600 Speaker 1: about that Nashville movement as it picks up the baton 276 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 1: and as riots continue in Alabama and Mississippi plays hardball 277 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: with its state penitentiary, So just to give you a 278 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,320 Speaker 1: little teaser there, but we're done with us for today. 279 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 1: If you have any ideas to send us for podcasts 280 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: or any thoughts on this one that you want to share, 281 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,160 Speaker 1: where History Podcast at how stuff works dot com or 282 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: you can look us up on Facebook or on Twitter 283 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,360 Speaker 1: at Myston History. And we also have an article about 284 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: the civil rights movement. I bet we're going to be 285 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: recommending this one quite a bit in the next few 286 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 1: episodes on the freedom rights. But it is called how 287 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: the Civil Rights Movement Worked, and even find it by 288 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:04,400 Speaker 1: searching for civil Rights on our homepage at www dot 289 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:10,639 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. Be sure to check out 290 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 1: our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. Join how 291 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 1: Staff Work staff as we explore the most promising and 292 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,880 Speaker 1: perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The House Stuff Works iPhone app 293 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: has a ride. 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