EXPLORATION SEVEN Omar shehadeh

      I had always known about the freedom riders and sit-ins but what I ultimately learned from this documentary was how wide spread the whole movement really was and how cruelly the African-Americans were truly treated. Un-able to sit at lunch tables and be served a meal, Un-able to use the same water fountains as white, not even seen as good enough to use the same restrooms as whites, African-Americans were branded as second class citizens.  Looking at how a entire race was able to be condemned in one of the most advanced nations in the world, at a time when segregation had already ended world wide, one can see how it is possible for instances like this to occur and how humans view certain issues. One of the Pivotal ideals of the movement was non-violence. Non-violence was essential, as without they never would have gained federal support and would have instead been met by even more violence than they already were facing. The non-violence tactic used also was essential in gaining white support, especially in areas were segregation was not prevalent. Everyone around the nation who had any sense of moral duty were rallying behind the black civil rights movement and demanded that these people get the justice they deserve. John lewis, one of the freedom riders said  "To me, it was like the Last Supper because you didn't know what to expect, going on the Freedom Ride." before he got on bus headed into deep southern territory where they would be faced with great adversary showing the utter determination of these people, ready to give their very lives for the cause they were fighting for. Jim peck, a freedom rider even said in a interview with a reporter "I got a beating twice yesterday by hoodlums, once aboard the bus and once in the common on Birmingham."and still he continued on the ride south. The violence towards these freedom riders had become so bad that on May 25th Alabama National gaurdsmen were deployed around the the montgomery bus terminal to protect 27 Freedom riders getting on a bus on two buses for Jackson,Mississippi. In Mississippi Freedom riders poured in by the hundreds, and eventually by summers end, 300 had been arrested and sentenced. Most of them, if not all of them,ended up in maximum federal security prison. All for riding a bus, marching through "white only" property and demanding the same respect and treatment all human beings deserve. And yet, still they remained non-violent and due to this gained even more supporters from both the black and white community.