Civil Rights Freedom Riders
May 14, 1961
On Mother's Day, May 14, 1961, a group of black and white CORE youth on a "Freedom Ride" from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans arrived by bus at the Birmingham Greyhound terminal. They were riding through the deep south to test a court case, "Boynton vs. Virginia", declaring segregation in bus terminals unconstitutional. Here they were met and attacked by a mob of Klansmen. The riders were severely assaulted while the police watched, yet the youth stood their grounds.
Marker is at the intersection of 19th Street North and 4th Avenue North, on the right when traveling north on 19th Street North.
Courtesy hmdb.org
