Anniston to honor 60th anniversary of Freedom Rides in Alabama with 2-day celebration
By Anthony Cook May 12, 2021
The history of the Freedom Rides in Anniston 60 years ago will be marked with events in the city this weekend. (Anthony Cook / Alabama NewsCenter and BCRI)
Three of the original Freedom Riders plan to make another trip to the city of Anniston this weekend – this time to be honored in recognition of the 60
th anniversary of the historic rides.
From May to September 1961, more than 60 Freedom Rides took place, during which more than 400 young Blacks and whites traveled shoulder to shoulder, challenging the Jim Crow transportation laws prohibiting Blacks and whites from sitting together on the bus. A Supreme Court ruling had struck down those laws, but cities across the South were ignoring it.