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The Freedom Rides: Journey for Change will be on display at McMorrough Library on the Goodman Campus of Holmes Community College from Sept. 18-Oct. 30. This exhibit explores one of the most important events in civil rights history through the eyes of the activists fighting for change. The exhibit is part of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Traveling Exhibits Program.
On May 4, 1961, the first Freedom Riders left Washington D.C., on two buses headed for New Orleans determined to challenge segregation on buses and in bus stations throughout the Deep South. The journey was organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). On May 24, 1961, the buses rolled into Jackson, and the Freedom Riders were immediately arrested as they attempted to use the segregated facilities. They were charged with breach of peace and many riders made the decision of “Jail, No Bail.” By the end of the summer, hundreds of Freedom Riders had been arrested, jailed, and sent to Parchman—Mississippi’s notorious state penitentiary. Visit The Freedom Rides: Journey for Change to bear witness to their experiences as they struggled and sacrificed in the name of equality and civil rights.
The Freedom Rides: Journey for Change is sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Foundation for Mississippi History, the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Mississippi Historical Records Advisory Board, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. For more information about this exhibit or the traveling exhibits program, contact the Mississippi Department of Archives and History at exhibits@mdah.ms.gov, or visit https://www.mdah.ms.gov/explore-mississippi/traveling-exhibits.
