Trailways Bus Station Attack May 14, 1961 - Anniston, AL
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 33° 39.350 W 085° 49.780
16S E 608514 N 3724610
Located at Noble Street and 9th Street, Anniston
Waymark Code: WM15XPR
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 03/18/2022
Views: 1
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, race relations in the South were dominated by local "Jim Crow" laws. Although in 1960 the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation violated the Interstate Commerce Act, local laws persisted.
When a desegregated bus carrying black and white "Freedom Riders" arrived at the Trailways Bus Station in Anniston on this date, a group of young white men came aboard to enforce segregated seating: whites in front, blacks in back. The men beat the Riders, forcing them to segregate. After police intervened, the bus continued to Birmingham with the badly injured Freedom Riders kept separated by their attackers.
Marker Name: Trailways Bus Station Attack May 14, 1961
Marker Type: Urban
Addtional Information::
Erected by City of Anniston Historic Trails Program
Part of the Anniston Civil Rights Trail
Date Dedicated / Placed: 2016
Marker Number: 2
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Visit Instructions:
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