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.