A taut and timely documentary by veteran Stanley Nelson, Freedom Riders charts the harrowing journey of these early civil rights activists. In 1961 segregation was still an entrenched fact of life in the American South. Though the Supreme Court had ruled to desegregate interstate travel the Southern states flagrantly ignored this. Unwilling to court trouble at home and focused on international issues abroad the nascent Kennedy administration did not act. Frustrated by this inaction, a group of primarily college students (of mixed race and gender) rode buses into the deep South to challenge this segregation.
The route was supposed to wind south from D.C., crossing through Alabama and Mississippi, and culminating in New Orleans for a rally. The Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) organized the Freedom Rides, hoping to gain press and support from the movement and the Kennedy administration. All their training didn’t quite prepare them for the hostility they encountered, and in Anniston, Alabama one of the buses was surrounded and set on fire by an angry mob. The Riders barely made it out alive, only to face physical and verbal assault by the mob.
Thus began an escalating series of events as the Freedom Riders pushed on into the South, countering violent ignorance with stoic grace. In Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama the Riders were attacked and beaten by Klansmen and townsfolk while the police looked on; they managed to leave Alabama (under heavy guard) only to be jailed once they reached Jackson, Mississippi. These events had a galvanizing effect on movement leaders like Dr. King and eventually forced the hand of the Kennedy White House to act in their defense.
The weaker parts of the film attempt to dramatize the bus rides themselves with corny recreations. But the pace really picks up as the drama of the conflict escalates. The film makes great use of archival material (some of which was delicately procured from the FBI’s files) and the old photographs and flickering film strips are a powerful and authentic visual counterpoint to the testimonials of the Freedom Riders themselves. The Riders speak with candid strength about their experiences, allowing both the sadness and humor to shine through. Historians and scholars, as well as key figures, round out the story. Particularly interesting and moving are the recollections of John Seigenthaler, Robert Kennedy’s assistant and the government official sent by the White House to deal with the crisis.
Most fascinating to me was the drama and outright aggression that existed between the Southern leaders and the federal government. That Alabama could only be brought to heel under the force of martial law gives a deep sense of how much things have progressed since that time. Despite the bloody history it depicts the film’s message is one of hope: that citizens can and should take action to lead their government toward progress when the powers that be are unwilling or unable to do so. The audience was clearly moved by the film, giving the director, his crew, and the present Freedom Riders a standing ovation. Cheering also followed a clip of an interview with Robert Kennedy in which he asserted that one day a “Negro” might even be president of the United States.
Freedom Riders will air on PBS’ American Experience.
