Civil Rights Freedom Riders - Birmingham, Alabama
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Scooter Bill
N 33° 30.999 W 086° 48.517
16S E 517773 N 3708581
This historical marker is located at the site of a former Greyhound bus station where a busload of civil rights "Freedom Riders" were brutally attacked by the Ku Klux Klan on Mothers' Day, May 14, 1961.
Waymark Code: WM1XT8
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 07/29/2007
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member muddawber
Views: 164

On Mothers' Day, May 14, 1961, a group of black and white CORE youth on a "Freedom Ride" from Washington, DC to New Orleans arrived by bus at the Birmingham Greyhound Bus Terminal. They were riding through the deep south to test a court case, "Boynton vs Virginia," declaring segregation in bus terminals illegal. Here they were met and attacked by a mob of Klansman. The riders were severely assaulted while the police watched, yet the youth stood their ground.

Marker erected 1985 by Greyhound and Kenneth Mullinax Jr.
Marker Name: Civil Rights Freedom Riders - May 14, 1961

Marker Type: Urban

Addtional Information::
Today, the former bus terminal site is the location of a Wachovia bank branch.


Date Dedicated / Placed: 1985

Marker Number: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
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