60 years ago this month one of the more notable events of the civil rights struggle, the freedom rides, began. It was conceived by the Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE), led by James Farmer, and involved black and white volunteers who boarded Greyhound and Trailways buses bound for deep south destinations, for the purpose of desegregating public facilities there, which supreme court decisions had already decreed, but had yet to be implemented.
History as taught in school, mostly devoid of details and context, tends to be dry and boring. A recently published book by one of only 2 current survivors from the original group of 12 freedom riders provides an abundance of details and context regarding the horrid reality of growing up poor and black in the jim crow south, and the unfathomable courage the freedom riders had to possess as they confronted the entrenched brutality of racism.
This book by Charles Person, titled BUSES ARE A COMIN', is great! Among it's many revelations is a bit of the story of an unsung American hero named James Peck, a white man born to great wealth and privilege who chose to put his life on the line repeatedly for his beliefs, for peace, justice, and racial equality.
No comments:
Post a Comment