I'm watching Oprah right now. It's May 4th, at 4:25 pm. I have tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat as I watch this episode. It is the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides. In 1961 a group of black and white men and women, that were against the segregation and unequality, decided to take a bus ride from Washington DC to New Orleans. They were making a stand for racial equality, for love and humanity. They knew they were risking their lives by standing up for what was right. They had all signed their wills before they left on this dangerous journey. At one point, when they were in Alabama, their bus was attacked by members of the KKK. The bus was on fire and the KKK tried to hold the door shut so they would all burn. When they finally got out of the bus, many were beaten and left to die. This was only 50 years ago people! It is heart breaking.
God bless these very brave people of the Freedom Rides. They risked their lives for what was right. I pray that someday, no one will be judged for the color of their skin, their religion, or the country they were born in. God bless our souls.
Oprah Whinfrey-Freedom Riders 50th Anniversary
God bless these very brave people of the Freedom Rides. They risked their lives for what was right. I pray that someday, no one will be judged for the color of their skin, their religion, or the country they were born in. God bless our souls.
Oprah Whinfrey-Freedom Riders 50th Anniversary
I watched the same episode of Oprah yesterday...did you hear that a special on the Freedom Riders will be presented on American Experience on PBS at some point in the next few weeks? I didn't catch the date, but I will be seeking it out for sure.
ReplyDeleteI recently read a great book on the topic of the Freedom Riders as well as the racially-motivated murders of voting workers James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman in Mississippi in '64. It's called "We Are Not Afraid," and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about this turbulent period in U.S. history. Many of the individuals featured on Oprah yesterday are discussed in detail in the book!
How incredibly brave, signing their will and doing it anyway. I can't imagine. I didn't see it so I hope they run it again or on PBS like Jenny said.
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I hope that I am here to see the day when everyone is non judgemental and accepting of each other in the truest sense of what humanity means.
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