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Dear friend,
This month marks 60 years since 13 Freedom Riders--including a young John Lewis--set out on two buses from Washington, DC to challenge the segregation of public transportation. In the weeks that followed, the Freedom Riders were threatened, arrested, and attacked by violent mobs throughout the Deep South. They attracted the attention of the nation and the world, inspiring hundreds more riders from across the country to join their movement in Mississippi that summer.
To mark this anniversary, we spoke with former Freedom Riders, as well as Eric Etheridge, the author of Breach of Peace, a photo-history of the movement.
Listen to their stories and reflections on the movement 60 years later.
When we look back today, more than any single set of laws or regulations, the Freedom Riders sent a message to the world that continues to echo decades later: that ordinary people from disparate backgrounds could come together and narrow the gap between our country’s stated ideals and lived reality.
It’s a lesson that serves as an inspiration for the story we’ll tell at the Obama Presidential Center, where visitors will hear about all that has been made possible by those who were willing to order at a lunch counter, organize their work place, ride on a bus, register for classes, or reach for the ballot in the face of massive resistance from state and local officials, so they can leave inspired to create change in their own communities.
As we honor their courage and clear purpose, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to revisit the stories of these men and women who rode into history 60 years ago this month.
Best,
—Valerie
Valerie Jarrett
Obama Foundation President |
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