62 years ago today, civil rights activists, known as Freedom Riders, took to riding buses to challenge the non-enforcement of rulings in court cases that segregated buses were unconstitutional.
Over the course of months of Freedom Rides, hundreds of brave activists broke the rules and status quo of segregation; faced harassment, violence, and detainment; and were pivotal in bolstering the Civil Rights Movement. What the Freedom Riders endured cannot be understated: buses burned, angry mobs, beatings with iron pipes and baseball bats.
After many Freedom Rides and years after segregation on interstate buses was deemed unconstitutional, the rules on interstate buses and trains were finally changed to allow all passengers to sit wherever they wanted and racially-segregated fountains, restrooms, and waiting rooms were consolidated.
The Freedom Riders formed a critical backbone of the Civil Rights Movement, helped move our country forward a great deal, and inspired participation in future campaigns such as those for voter registration.
So today, please join me in honoring the Freedom Riders and reflect on how we can all play a part in pursuing a better, more equitable country for all. We must remember this critical lesson of the Civil Rights Movement: Inaction is complacency and complicity in the face of a wrong.
Thank you,
Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.
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