pamperedwolf

[pamperedwolf]

The Black Grandma Moses!

Clementine Hunter was not a trained artist, she was merely extraordinarily self-taught, as she was illiterate and did not know how to read or write and did not express a want for obtaining literacy but did have a desire and passion to paint. Often nicknamed “The black grandma Moses” after another self-taught artist that started later in her career. Hunter made a colorful impact on the world of art with her playful paintings that depicted the harsh reality of everyday life on the plantation.

Clementine’s Hunter birthdate isn’t exactly known, it is believed to be between the time of the late 1886 and early 1887. At a time when slavery was still a memory for those living and endured. She was born on Hidden Hill Plantation and was one of seven children born to free parents, but who did work on the plantation, and the granddaughter of former slaves. Hidden Hill had a harsh and violent reputation, and the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin was based on the conditions of the enslaved and free people that resided there.

At 15, Hunter moved to Melrose Plantation where she worked picking cotton. She attended school for a total of 10 days, ash she preferred working in the field over books. She attended St Augustine Catholic Church in Natchez Louisiana which was founded in 1829 by a freed slave. This church was significant to Hunter because it was the first church established by and for free people of color in Louisiana.

At the Melrose Plantation, she met her husband Charlie Dupree, with whom she has two children. He passed away in 1914 and 10 years later Hunter found happiness again when she met Emmanuel Hunter, who was a local woodchopper and had taught her English, as she had only spoken creole French before that. She went on to have five more children with Emmanuel.

Hunter moved from a field hand to working as a housekeeper and cook on the Melrose plantation. The plantation was established by Louis Metoyer, a former slave, and a free person of color, sometime after it was sold to John Hampton Henry and his wife Carmelita, who was sometimes called Miss Cammie. Carmelita decided to create an artist hub where famous artists could come and stay, relax, and work. Hunter was in her fifties when Alberta Kinsley a New Orleans artist came to stay on the plantation, she ends up leaving behind some brushes and paint supplies after her visit. Hunter found them while cleaning and used them to paint a picture of baptism in the river, this act was the start of her career as an artist.

Hunter painted mainly from memory, from her experiences, from those around her. She wanted to depict these images on paper, giving people the chance to see the realities of her life and conditions. She would paint scenes like washing clothes, flowers, funerals, and baptisms, and of course picking cotton. In her paintings, she comes from an abnormal scale and perspective. Hunter didn’t favor any canvases, she would paint on jugs, gourds, bottles, and discarded items.

One of her well-known paintings covers the wall of s food storage building that resides on the Melrose Plantation. It is oils painted on plywood that tells the cycles of harvesting, planting, celebration, and mourning.

With support from another artist on the plantation, Hunter was able to practice and perfect her art. One monumental person in her artist career was Francois Mignon, he was the curator for the plantation and became Hunter’s good friend, he eventually began to give her painting supplies, and began to help her promote her art, getting her art displayed in the local stores around the city being sold for 1$, he became almost like her PR for her work. Hunter could not read or write so she often wasn’t able to sign her work, sometimes her friend would sign on her behalf, or she would sign a backward C and H.

Though she first displayed her talent in 1949, Hunter did not receive recognition nationally until the late 1970s when the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the American Folk-Art Museum in New York exhibited her paintings.

Even though she had much success, Hunter still chose to stay in her hometown Louisiana and continue her work at Melrose Plantation. It wasn’t until 1970 that she moved into a small cottage a few miles from the plantation on an unmarked road.

“Painting is a lot harder than pickin’ cotton. Cottons right there for you to pull it off the stalk, but to paint, you got to sweat your mind” Clementine H.

[pamperedwolf]

Hallie Quinn Brown.

Hallie Quinn Brown was an African American equal rights activist, educator, and author. Her work consisted mostly of the late nineteenth and earlier twentieth century.

On March 10th, 1845, Brown was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, although her birth year is sometimes reported as 1849. Here parents were born as slaves but were active participants in the underground railroad. The family soon moved to Canada, where there was a thriving black population, but then some years later relocated to Ohio. This is where Brwon attended and graduated from the University of Wilberforce in 1873. After graduating Hallie Brown moved to Mississippi, and became a schoolteacher for African American children. Soon after, she moved to Columbia, South Carolina, and accepted another teaching position. While in Columbia she transferred to Allen University where she also served as the dean, from the period of 1885 to 1887. She spent some years teaching night school to African American students, and then from 1892 to 1893, she was a teacher at the Tuskegee Institute.

Brown became heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movements. She made it a point to travel across the united states and overseas, lecturing and teaching about the black man and woman’s plight in America. It is worth mentioning that Queen Victoria herself granted her an audience. She was a participant in the international congress of women in 1893 and soon became a part of the colored women’s League in Washington D.C. She also spent some time as the secretary of education at the American Methodist Episcopal Church. Brown helped to establish and became the honorary president after her time serving as the president for the rest of her life in the National Association for colored women.

Hallie Brown eventually returned to Ohio, returned to Wilberforce University, and continued as a professor there. While on campus she helped to build organizations and reform efforts, that advocated for the state federation of colored women clubs. She wrote several books describing and emphasizing the fight against racial; justice in America and how the fight continues.

She died, on September 16, 1949.

[pamperedwolf]

I Said....Say Her Name.

Co-Founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum Kimberle' Crenshaw coined the term 'Say Her name' in 2014. It was a campaign to bring awareness and inclusivity to black women's stories of race, discrimination and more widely known police brutality. The campaign aims to show how race and gender black women are disproportionality affected by the horrific acts of racial injustice. The name of the movement is symbolic with remembering and learning these woman's stories. There is statement from Crenshaw where she says, " If you say the name, you're prompted to learn the story, and if you know the story, then you have a broader sense of all the ways Black bodies are made vulnerable to police violence."

Another term that goes hand in hand with the campaign 'Say Her Name' is misogynoir, this term comes from Moya Bailey and it is described as "the specific hatred, dislike, distrust, and prejudice directed toward Black women.” This helps us to see how racial injustice manifest in different forms and almost all areas. And the Hashtag #SayHerName helps to highlight misogynoir and how black woman's stories often times go unnoticed, ranging from police violence, domestic violence and sexual assault.

It's important that I approach this from different angles, so that the audience may see that it is not just police brutality black women are suffering from and not being acknowledged and that this epidemic didn't just begin in 2014. To add some historical context to the situation, it's important to mention Hattie McCray, she was a 14-year-old girl that was killed in the 1930's in New Orleans, by a white police officer because she rejected his sexual advances.

An example from more recent times is the case of R. Kelly and his victims over the years, for years black girls have came forward with allegations surrounding sexual abuse from the very well known singer but their cries have gone unnoticed or unbelieved. Or using another recent example is Megan the Stallion incident with Tory Lanes and him shooting her in the foot, she received much backlash from the incident and was labeled a snitch and many people didn't believe her when she came forward about the abuse. This all plays in to the notion that black women need less protection that their counterparts, and as Malcom X said it best "The black woman is the most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman." We can see that from the begining of our time in america until now, and it is so embedded that it is happening within our community and outside of it.

https://youtu.be/6EIEKe8fVmg

Several studies show that blacks girls are seen as less innocent than white girls, they are seen as more sexual, they are seen as needing less protection and this all plays into how they are treated, seen and forgotten about when in certain environments.

Some findings of adulcification of black girls are....

Adultification is linked to harsher treatment and higher standards for 
black girls in school.

Negative stereotypes of black women as angry, aggressive and 
hypersexualized are projected onto black girls.

Adults attempt to change black girls’ behavior to be more passive.

Adultification bias can lead educators and other authorities to treat black girls in developmentally inappropriate ways.

Factors that contribute to adultification bias include racism, sexism, and poverty.

Adults have less empathy for black girls than their white peers.

Barlow, Jameta Nicole. “Black Women, the Forgotten Survivors of Sexual Assault.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, Jan. 2020, https://www.apa.org/pi/about/newsletter/2020/02/black-women-sexual-assault.

Blake, Jamilia. “Research Confirms That Black Girls Feel the Sting of Adultification Bias Identified in Earlier Georgetown Law Study.” Research Confirms That Black Girls Feel the Sting of Adultification Bias Identified in Earlier Georgetown Law Study, 15 May 2019, https://www.law.georgetown.edu/news/research-confirms-that-black-girls-feel-the-sting-of-adultification-bias-identified-in-earlier-georgetown-law-study/.

Day One. “The Epidemic of Violence against Black Women in the US.” Day One, Day One, 11 Mar. 2020, https://www.dayoneny.org/blog/2020/3/11/the-epidemic-of-violence-against-black-women-in-the-us.

Kelly, Mary Louise, and Heidi Glenn. “Say Her Name: How the Fight for Racial Justice Can Be More Inclusive of Black Women.” NPR, NPR, 7 July 2020, https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/07/888498009/say-her-name-how-the-fight-for-racial-justice-can-be-more-inclusive-of-black-wom.

[pamperedwolf]

I am Black and then I am feminist.

The relevant information to point out first would be that Black feminism is the direct and unique experience of black women, and their position and fight against classism, racism and sexism, and the list does not end there. It is widely known how black women have been excluded from the feminist movement due to their race and forgotten about in the plight of liberation of black people.

One upside is that Black feminism is one of the perfect examples of intersectionality, it brings light to and helps first, us, and then secondly the world to see the many facets of identity women have. Black feminism has been a crucial booster in knowledge and study in women and gender studies and intersectionality, helping to push the envelope and lead a better understanding of the systems of oppression, and encouraging ways of solidarity for all those who suffer and all those who are oppressed.

The word feminism instantly rubs people the wrong way, we hear this word and immediately think angry, unreasonable, and dyke. But the anger that is associated with the word feminism shouldn’t be something we are ashamed of, it is our ‘superpower’ if anything. Using the term eloquent rage as an example, it takes away the emotion we tried to suppress or keep at bay and gives it an avenue for being honest, it keeps us honest. And this is a way to look at the black woman’s anger as a political response to the multiple levels of injustice rather than an irrational emotion anger.

Posted on April 9, 2021 By Kim. “The Original Activists: Black Feminism and the Black Feminist Movement.” National Organization for Women, 9 Apr. 2021, https://now.org/blog/the-original-activists-black-feminism-and-the-black-feminist-movement/.

[pamperedwolf]

Rubin Carter

Rubin Carter born May 6, 1937, in Clifton, New Jersey. He had his first run in with the law at age 12, where he was sent to Jamesburg State Home for boys. He had claimed that an older man, was attempting to molest his friend and Carter reacted to help his friend. Before he six-year term could end in the boy’s home Carter escaped. In 1954 Carter decided to join the army, he of course served in the segregated corps. Soon after he started to train as a boxer and won two European championships and wanted to return as a professional boxer but upon his return, Carter was arrested and was forced to serve the remainder of his sentence in a state reformatory.

Later in 1957, Rubin Carter was arrested again for snatching a purse and was sentenced to four years in a maximum-security prison. After that release he took his anger to the ring, being named the “Hurricane” for his speed, and soon became a contender for the world’s middle weight crown. He lost his shot at a title to Joey Giardiello but was bet on by plenty to win his next shot at a title. Along with his fame and glory came hate as he went further into the fight for his community and its rights. He had no friends within the police force, as he surely advocated violence towards the police force in the pursuit of equality and justice. And his bold stance and long track record made him even more of a target.

He turned pro in 1961 and began an amazing winning streak. In October 1966 in the middle of training for his next shot at the world middleweight he was arrested for a triple murder at Lafayette Bar & Grill that occurred in June. The state produced two eyewitness Alfred Bello and Arthur D. Bradley. Even with no evidence linking Carter and Artis to the crime they were still sentenced two three life prison systems. While in prison he continued to advocate for his innocence and began to become disobedient to the jail and its rules as he felt as an innocent man he shouldn’t be subjected to. He received outside support from fellow athletes and activist as people like Muhammad Ali joined his cause and the fight for his innocence, as well as Dylan who wrote the song “Hurricane” to bring awareness to his plight.

Inside the prison he eventually came to terms with what his life now was, he spent ample amount of time studying and staying to himself. After 10 years in jail, he insisted his wife stop coming to see him out of his and her peace of mind, they soon divorced after that. In 1980 he began a relationship with Lesra Martin, a woman who read his autobiography and was moved from his story and initiated communication. In the summer of 1983 Lesra and Rubin developed a strong bond and stemming from that Lesra started working fiercely with Carters legal team, including his lawyers. On November 7, 1985, the decision was made to free Carter.

[pamperedwolf]

To Pay or Not to Pay....

“If you look at a program like [University of] Louisville, …they generate about $45 million a year in revenue. They give out 13 scholarships. That adds up to about $400,000 a year. The rest of it gets spread out to the coach, who makes $8 million a year, to the assistant coaches, who make as much as a half-million dollars a year. All throughout the athletic department, people are making six-figure salaries. It does not go to the players, what I call the unpaid workforce.” (Bloomberg, 2021) It always the people laboring, putting in the most work, making the least, and getting the short hand of the stick. These are the stars of the show but they are getting compensated like the guest stars. When we attend these games, the answer is obvious as to who we come to see and who we are mostly entertained by, it is the players on the field. The universities are profiting, and by quite a bit, and it seems quite unfairly on the backs of their athletes.

"In 2017, 67% of former Division I athletes had sustained a major injury and 50% had chronic injuries, 2.5% higher than non-athletes" Pulling form Megan Walsh article I Trusted Em: When NCAA Schools abandons Their Injured Athletes. Another example is that it is an requirement for players to have health insurance, but the NCAA does not pay for health insurance for its players, and the absurdity even goes so far that if a player in injured with a sports injury they can refuse to pay for medical expenses. And it is important to note that the NCAA does not stop schools from canceling a players scholarship if they do end getting hurt.

All in all there are racial undertones here, majority of the college athletes are young black men, I have to question and wonder if it was majority young white men would the stance on this be taken less lightly and be bombarded with less excuses. Athletes are risking theirs bodies as well as their futures while often receiving an inadequate education. Athletes are often worth over 1 million dollars but due to the many restrictions they have regarding not being able to take endorsements or not being allowed or the time to pick up side hustles they are often living under the poverty line while the schools are making millions off of their performances. "About 25% of Division I athletes reported food poverty in the past year and almost 14% reported being homeless in the past year." (NCPA, 2011)

Bloomberg. “The NCAA Raked in over $1 Billion Last Year.” Fortune, Fortune, 8 June 2021, https://fortune.com/2018/03/07/ncaa-billion-dollars/.

“Study: ‘the Price of Poverty in Big Time College Sport’ - 9/13/2011.” Www.ncpanow.org, https://www.ncpanow.org/research/study-the-price-of-poverty-in-big-time-college-sport.

Walsh, Meghan. “'I Trusted 'Em': When NCAA Schools Abandon Their Injured Athletes.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 1 May 2013, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/05/i-trusted-em-when-ncaa-schools-abandon-their-injured-athletes/275407/.

[pamperedwolf]

Kneel With a Purpose

In Steve Wyches article Colin Kaepernick explains why he sat during the national anthem The 49's issued a statement regarding Kaepernick's decision "The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem."

Colin Kaepernick did not see it that way, as many athletes before him he understood the injustices that were occurring for black people and people of the minority. People were being brutalized and murdered in the streets, as well as standing in support of a flag that did not stand for them. Under this flag minority communities have been beat, raped and murdered, and have had to scratch and claw our way into simple things like respect and dignity. It was in Kaepernick's understanding to not continuously support and stand for not only a flag, but a system that did not respect or protect half the people in this country.

There are debates concerning who Kaepernick's issue was with, or who it should really be taken up with, or who it was taken up with. Under the first amendment, us as citizens are protected under the laws to speak our truths and our plights, but some have argued that since he knelt in a private setting, with his private employer that he is not protected from any legal action, making it a workplace issue and not a constitutional one. But the truth of the matter is that his issue was not with his private employer, it was with the systems within our government in which he has been raised, taught from, abused in and cultivated. He did not choose to protest the NFL alone, he chose to protest his country that had failed him and all of us for that matter.

There it is in it's entirety, Freedom of Speech, that does not mean only on official government property or workplaces, that means here and now on the American soil that these amendments were created. I feel as though people will try to flip things in the sense of private employers vs government employers, and I believe that the comparison is invalid. Using this as a comparison would defeat a numerous amount of other constitional rights in private work places, if they only applied to certain environment's and positions, leaving room for plenty of mistreatment and injustice to occur.

Willingham, AJ. “The First Amendment Doesn't Guarantee You the Rights You Think It Does.” CNN, Cable News Network, 6 Sept. 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/27/politics/first-amendment-explainer-trnd/index.html.

Wyche, Steve. “Colin Kaepernick Explains Why He Sat during National Anthem.” NFL.com, NFL, 26 Aug. 2020, https://www.nfl.com/news/colin-kaepernick-explains-why-he-sat-during-national-anthem-0ap3000000691077.

[pamperedwolf]

I'm not Black, I'm O.J......Okay.

O.J Simpson killed the long thought about ideas about America and the American justice system for white Americans, in exposing the good and bad. While other sports heroes like Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali had their knees deep into the movement using their platforms to make a stance and provoke change within a system and community that they where apart of and had seen the injustices occur and often times fell victim to, O.J Simpson couldn't have been further removed from the crisis and the American lifestyle that many blacks suffered from and many whites benefited from. He often separated himself from blacks as he did not seem himself as apart of the community and did not operate within his community.

A word that is constantly used to describe O.J Simpson is a counterrevolutionary athlete, and when things were brought to his attention, things like racial injustice, discrimination within communities, police brutality or even the prejudice that pertained to sports, he seen it as being not his problem. His take on these such issues is that they didn't pertain to him, in his quotes he never quite dismissed or disrespected the athletes that refused to turn the other cheek but he could not get behind him. Pulled from the Washington Post as he gets further into his career he is quoted saying “I’ve had a lot of pressure on me to go into politics,” Simpson says in another interview. “I think they tried to use us, and in many cases, it hurt guys.” Simpson wanted to be assimilated into white culture as much as he could, talking the talk, walking the walk, and not doing anything to ruffle any feathers. It was his goal to move further and further into a white mans lifestyle and beliefs, so much so that when in predominately white environments he fit in and did not feel out of place.

In the case of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman some seen the trial as a racist white police department and system trying to bring down a black man and others seen it as a case of domestic violence that ended in the tragic deaths of two people. The view on O.J Simpson changed, he was now a black man on trial for the murder of two white people, if that doesn't humble you back to your roots, I don't know what could. He had the fame, fortune and respect of white folks, but as the information spewed and the trial began he wasn't O.J the Juice he was a black man. White people were so invested in Simpson and what he represented that when his story ended in murder and lies, white America felt betrayed and bamboozled, and he was seen for what he is a Black man. But interestingly enough I think the white privilege he obtained in his time of being the Juice and trying his best to conform, spilled over into the chase, conviction and the trial. He was not handled like any other black man would have been in a hot pursuit for a double homicide, the police force were careful with him, and took their time apprehending him, as well as for a trial that took about a year for a jury to find him not guilty in three hours speaks volumes, if we compare it to today a Black man would have been found guilty in such a short amount of time. So I do believe that the trial humbled him to see where his roots had lied, but I think his privilege also seeped through.

[pamperedwolf]

Black Lives Matter and Sports Intertwined.

Despite constant criticism sports players have received backlash and an amount of disproval for a long while now, when using their platform to bring attention to racial injustice. From the Cleveland Summit with Muhammad Ali and the iconic protest we know as Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympic Games . Marginalized groups have tried to make their plight known to others in every section they are involved in. Colin Kaepernick, Black Lives Matter, Lebron James, was all a start to a new era of athletes not to not just ‘shut up and dribble’ as the infamous Laura Ingraham told Lebron James as he actively started to engage within his community and what was happening within our society and the racism and inequalities.

While leagues, corporate sponsors and owners made it their business to ignore the Black Lives Matter Movement, Athlete support was not new or uncommon. In fact, it seems athlete activism was before the time of Black Lives Matter and the platforms that these athletes had helped to bring the attention and awareness to the movement. For example, in February of 2012 Gorge Zimmerman fatally shot and killed Trayvon Martin in cold blood, and some short time after Lebron James and Dwayne Wade posted a photo of their team dressed in hoodies in honor of Trayvon Martin.

Sports play a crucial roll in activism, as racism happens on and off the field. Sports careers traditionally have been seen and used both intentionally and unintentionally as am avenue for economic advancement and empowerment. Pulling the statistic from How have sports shaped the Black Lives Matter Movement by Ogonna Nweke she states “for not only Black and other ethnic minority participation but also economic empowerment with 80% of National Basketball Association players being people of color (POC) and over 70% per cent of National Football League players being POC” This creates a power and a platform for minorities to stand and speak on.

Ogonna Nweke. “How Have Sports Shaped the Black Lives Matter Movement?” Public Interest Media, The University Of Auckland, https://www.thebigq.org/2020/10/13/how-have-sports-shaped-the-black-lives-matter-movement/.

[pamperedwolf]

Discussion Board 8/ Long Hot Summer

The American civil rights movement protested many plights in America that the black and brown people of the land were facing, things like discrimination, segregation and death and brutality of many African Americans in the southern states. The movement began in the 1950’s but the roots of this resistance to racial oppression started with our ancestors, the enslaved African Americans who fought back through slavery and their right to be free from slavery and their right to be treated equal after slavery, as well as their decedents rights to justice and equality here in America. Enslaved people had been giving their freedom after the civil war and have been granted equal rights through the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments, but that ended nothing for them. It was a constant and ongoing battle to secure protection under these amendments, and this continued for the next century.

Mainly through non-violent protest the movement helped to break the patterns of segregation, and they were victorious in many areas, but soon after a shift happened in the community and a new awareness was brought to the forefront of the movement and more militant black activist begun to develop a deeper understanding of what civil rights for black meant and what it looked like. Activist started to see past just civil right reforms and looking further into abolishing the political, economic, and cultural problems they were facing.

In 1954 to kick things off the NAACP strategy to end segregation in education in the Supreme court Brown v. Board of education trial. African Americans joined the formal but not practical right to attend school with their white peers and this of course started an uproar of violence coming from white Americans and more times than not the law was in their favor.

Pulling from the John Charles Boger’s Race and the American City: The Kerner Commissioner Report in “During the mid­1960s the nation witnessed five consecutive summers of racial unrest in its cities. These riots followed a decade of mounting white violence, targeted especially against African Americans who had challenged the South's system of legalized segregation. During the decade between 1954 and 1964 scores of southern black churches had been fire­bombed, and dozens of blacks had been killed in the civil rights struggle.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

In December of 1955, one of our most courageous hero’s Rosa Parks and as she is well known for her refusal of her seat to a white passenger, and at the time that was the cities segregation laws. Some have the story confused, and she is depicted as an old woman who was just tired, but in all actuality, she was a long time civil right activist, as well as an active member of the NAACP. And with that background of activism and just plainly being tired of the mistreatment she planned to not move that day, she was courageous and arrested that day. The NACCP called on religious and political leaders to come in support of a boycott for her arrest, the numbers were immaculate, The Constitutional Rights Foundation in the article Social Protest shares a statistic of the numbers that day “More than 75 percent of Montgomery’s black residents regularly used the bus system. On the day of the boycott, only eight black people rode Montgomery’s buses.”

The Sit ins

In February of 1960, In Greensboro, North Carolina four black college students, freshman college students at that, decided to sit down at Woolworth’s lunch counter. This was a well-known segregated establishment and these brave souls sat in and asked to be served and remained seated until they were served or until the diner closed, only to return the next day. The tactic was for well-dressed and very well-behaved students to sit peacefully and asked to be served, they were either ignored, taunted, harassed and sometimes even beat while staging this protest, and if the students were arrested more students would flow in to take their place. These demonstrations were called “sit ins” and as the word spread more students in the south started to follow suite, and by April that same year more that 50,000 students had joined the movement. By October blacks’ students across our nation helped to form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating committee (SNCC) to help further carry out the cause.

Freedom Ride

Another honorable mention is the Freedom Ride, even though 10 years prior to this protest the U.S Supreme court declared it notational for the buses to be segregated but they still were not. On this ride some of the most dangerous and heinous acts occurred for this demonstration. In May of 1961 not only black but whites as well joined the movement and boarded the bus bound for the southern states. This protest was led by the Congress of Racial Equity (CORE) a civil rights group that was committed to nonviolence no matter the circumstances. In the beginning of the ride, they endured little resistance but once they made it to Alabama they were met by a mob of white people, that set the buses on fire and as they exited beat and attacked the riders as they exited, another bus right outside of Alabama had been stopped and 8 white men beat them viscously with chains and bats. President Kennedy urged them to stop but they did not and quite frankly could not, there was a much bigger purpose at hand. The riders never reached their destination which was New Orleans, but they did achieve their purpose of desecrating trains, buses and terminals.

Cobb, Jelani, and Matthew Guariglia. The Essential Kerner Commission Report. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2021.

“Social Protests.” Constitutional Rights Foundation, https://www.crf-usa.org/black-history-month/social-protests.