Greyhound Bus Station

Greyhound Bus Station. Destination. Built 1950 (Remodeled in the 1970s), 618 19th St. N. , The Greyhound bus station was a stop of the 1961 Freedom Riders, a group of Blacks and Whites who rode buses together across state lines to disobey segregation laws in the Deep South. A mob attacked and severely beat the Freedom Riders who arrived at Birmingham's Trailways bus station in May 1961. College student Diane Nash -- a leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) who helped organize the Rides -- worried that fear of Southern violence might stop the Rides and even the Movement itself. So, she sent more riders to Birmingham. When they arrived here at the Greyhound bus station, Public Safety Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor ordered police to arrest and jail them, including John Lewis, pictured here. Saying he could not stand hearing them sing their freedom songs anymore, Connor himself drove them to the Alabama - Tennessee state line and ordered them not to return. But they did return. With the help of Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, they continued their Greyhound bus ride from Birmingham to Montgomery, where an angry mob attacked them. Eventually, the Freedom Rides led to federal laws ending all racial segregation at public facilities involving state-to-state travel. , "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it." , Nelson Mandela , South African Civil Rights Leader, President and Statesman., Lesson C29: Read about the Freedom Riders and their journey through the Deep South in 1961 to learn about other dangers they faced. Do you think they were brave?