Civil rights campaigns 1945 to 1965The Freedom Rides 1961
Notable events in the civil rights movement in the 1950s were the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Little Rock. The 1960s saw Sit Ins, the Freedom Rides and protests in Birmingham, Alabama.
The video below looks at racial segregation on US public transport.
Causes
In 1960, the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation in rest rooms, waiting rooms and restaurants was illegal.
Events
In 1961, 13 members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) tested the Supreme Court Ruling, by travelling by bus from Washington to New Orleans.
The Freedom Riders faced threats and violence as they travelled south, so much so that Martin Luther King urged the Freedom Riders to call off their protest several times as he was worried about their safety.
Impact
The Freedom Riders attracted huge publicity and many white people, especially in the north, were disgusted by the violence.
The US Government finally ordered all interstate bus companies to end segregation at interstate bus stations.