Freedom Rides Essay

The African-American Civil Rights Movement was very influential in its time; and more specifically, the Freedom Rides that took place were the epitome of the movement that brought down the racial barriers of segregation. This paper specifically focuses on the precursor events to the Freedom Rides, the major events that took place during the rides, and how the effects of the rides shaped history and redefined civil rights in modern-day America. Leading up to the Freedom Rides, the Supreme Court issued two rulings that denounced Plessy v. Ferguson, which were Irene Morgan v. The Commonwealth of Virginia and Boynton v. Virginia. These rulings mandated a halt to the segregation on public buses and declared it to be unconstitutional. The main

However, the result of the nonviolent protests achieved the goal of persuading the Interstate Commerce Commission to ban segregation on trains and buses nationwide. Following the decision, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 invoked the Interstate Commerce Clause to ban segregation nationwide and bring an end to Jim Crow laws. Both the lunch counter sit-ins and the Freedom Rides were nonviolent protests, and achieved their goal of desegregation. So, does non-violence persuade? (Arsenault,

The individuals and agencies that backed the Freedom Riders were persuaded by the appeal of nonviolence, and allowed the vital part of the civil rights movement to be successful. African-Americans gained civil liberties from the Freedom Rides that allowed them to legally be equal members of society in relation to whites. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a result of precedent from the Freedom Rides and lunch counter sit-ins, and this directly led from the protests that occurred using nonviolence. The Freedom Rides were necessary for the desegregation to occur, so that African-Americans could be equal to whites in the south. Despite facing adversities such as the Anniston bombing of a Greyhound bus, the Freedom Riders used nonviolence to achieve their goals. Nonviolence is the answer to achieving personal and political goals, despite the circumstances and potential