Anniston bus bombing

Anniston Bus Bombing

The Anniston bus bombing was a significant event during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, occurring on May 14, 1961. This incident involved the attack on a Freedom Ride bus by a violent mob in Anniston, Alabama. The attack was a pivotal moment in the struggle for civil rights and highlighted the intense resistance to desegregation in the southern United States.

Background

The Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions Boynton v. Virginia (1960) and Morgan v. Virginia (1946), which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. The Freedom Rides were organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and were intended to test the enforcement of these rulings.

The Incident

On May 4, 1961, a group of thirteen Freedom Riders, both African American and white, departed from Washington, D.C., on two buses bound for New Orleans, Louisiana. On May 14, one of the buses, a Greyhound bus, was attacked in Anniston, Alabama.

Attack on the Bus

As the Greyhound bus arrived at the Anniston bus station, it was met by a hostile mob of about 200 people. The mob, which included members of the Ku Klux Klan, surrounded the bus, slashed its tires, and broke its windows. The bus attempted to leave the station but was pursued by the mob in cars.

A few miles outside of Anniston, the bus was forced to stop due to its slashed tires. The mob caught up with the bus and threw a firebomb into it, setting it ablaze. The Freedom Riders were able to escape the burning bus, but they were then beaten by the mob as they exited.

Aftermath

The attack on the Freedom Riders in Anniston drew national and international attention to the civil rights struggle in the United States. The violence against the Freedom Riders prompted the Kennedy administration to intervene, providing federal protection for the Riders as they continued their journey.

The Anniston bus bombing was a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement, as it demonstrated the violent resistance to desegregation and the need for federal enforcement of civil rights laws.

Legacy

The Anniston bus bombing is remembered as a symbol of the struggle for civil rights and the courage of those who risked their lives to challenge segregation. The site of the attack has been commemorated with historical markers and is part of the Freedom Riders National Monument, established in 2017.

See Also

• Freedom Riders
• Civil Rights Movement
• Ku Klux Klan
• Boynton v. Virginia

References

• Arsenault, Raymond. Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice. Oxford University Press, 2006.
• "Freedom Riders." PBS. Accessed October 2023.

External Links

• Freedom Riders National Monument