Greyhound Bus Station

On May 28, 1961, a Greyhound bus carrying nine Freedom Riders arrived in Jackson as the third group of Riders to reach the city, after two earlier groups came on Trailways buses on May 24. In 1961, this bus station became the scene of many arrests as Freedom Riders challenged racial segregation in Jackson’s bus and train stations and airport. Part of a campaign created by the Congress of Racial Equality, the Riders sought federal enforcement against illegal racially separate waiting rooms, rest rooms, and restaurants that were common in public transportation facilities across the South. On May 4, 1961, thirteen Riders, black and white, men and women, left Washington, D.C., on two buses, trained in nonviolent direct action and intending to desegregate bus stations throughout the South. After integrating stations in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia with few incidents, they were attacked by mobs in Anniston, Birmingham, and Montgomery, Alabama. Although urged by the Kennedy administration, the media, and some civil rights leaders to stop, they continued with reinforcements from the Nashville Student Movement. On May 24, two buses left Montgomery for Jackson under armed guard by highway patrolmen and National Guardsmen. In Jackson, instead of a mob, policemen told them to move on when they tried to use segregated facilities, and when they refused, they were arrested, charged with breach of peace, and quickly convicted. Adopting a jail-no bail tactic, they brought in new Riders from around the country. Within three weeks, Jackson’s jails were full, and the Riders were transferred to the state penitentiary at Parchman, where most served six weeks while enduring indignities and injustices with fortitude and resolve. Between May 24 and September 13, 329 people were arrested in Jackson, half black and half white, and a quarter were women. Most were between eighteen and thirty years old. They came from thirty-nine states and ten other countries, and forty-three were from Mississippi. Their protest succeeded when, in September 1961, the federal government mandated an end to segregation in interstate transportation, and on September 23 the Interstate Commerce Commission ordered segregation ended in all bus and train stations and airports. The Freedom Riders’ victory demonstrated the value of nonviolent direct action, provided a template for future campaigns, and helped jump-start the movement in Mississippi.

Jackson, Mississippi · United States