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In the spring of 1961, a small interracial band of "Freedom Riders" set out to challenge discriminatory state laws and local customs that required a separation of the races on buses and in bus station facilities, like waiting areas, lunch counters, and restrooms. Their journey was dramatically opposed by white supremacists who viciously attacked the Freedom Riders on multiple occasions.

Through the media, the nation and the world witnessed the violence. Images, like that of a firebombed bus burning outside Anniston, Alabama, shocked the American public and created political pressure, which forced the Federal Government to take steps to ban segregation in interstate bus travel.

Although only thirteen Freedom Riders started the journey, they inspired hundreds of others to join their cause. In the end there were over 400 Freedom Riders. They succeeded in pressing the federal government to act. On May 29, 1961, Attorney General Robert Kennedy petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to issue regulations banning segregation, and the ICC subsequently decreed that by November 1, 1961, bus carriers and terminals serving interstate travel had to be integrated.

The Freedom Rides and Freedom Riders made substantial gains in the fight for equal access to public accommodations. Federal orders to remove Jim Crow signs on interstate facilities did not change social mores or political institutions overnight, but the Freedom Riders nonetheless struck a powerful blow to racial segregation.

Source: NPS Website (2019)

Establishment Freedom Riders National Monument — Jan. 12, 2017

For More Information Please Visit The OFFICIAL NPS WEBSITE

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

2017		Date Unknown
Would YOU get on the bus? Date Unknown	cover only Freedom Rides Museum Date Unknown

Cultural Resources Assessment, Proposed United States Courthouse, Anniston, Alabama (S&ME, Inc., September 2017)

Foundation Document, Freedom Riders National Monument, Alabama (October 2018)

Foundation Document Overview, Freedom Riders National Monument, Alabama (November 2018)

Historic Structure Report: 1029 Gurnee Avenue "The Mural Building", Anniston, AL (Lord Aeck Sargent, November 16, 2020)

Junior Ranger Book, Freedom Riders National Monument (Date Unknown; for reference purposes only)

Presidential Proclamation 9566 — Establishment of the Freedom Riders National Monument (Barack Obama, January 12, 2017)