On May 14, 1961—Mother’s Day—the first group of interracial Freedom Riders traveling through the Deep South were violently attacked by white segregationists in Alabama. Outside Anniston, a mob firebombed their Greyhound bus and beat passengers as they escaped the flames. Hours later in Birmingham, another group was brutally assaulted at the bus terminal while police deliberately failed to intervene. These riders, organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), were testing Supreme Court rulings that banned segregation in interstate travel. Their courage, and the images of violence they endured, shocked the nation and galvanized support for the civil rights movement.
© 2025 KnowThyHistory.com. Know Thy History
