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’60s Freedom Riders celebrated at LMU

by Open-Publishing - Sunday 11 December 2005

Movement Discriminations-Minorit. Democracy USA History

By R. W. Dellinger

"The greatness of our nation was the persistent, steady struggle of people, many unnoticed and invisible, who laid the foundation by which we live today. And the struggle of the ’50s and ’60s was one of the great movements," declared Rev. James Lawson at a Nov. 11 luncheon hosted by Loyola Marymount University to honor civil rights activists.

The pastor emeritus of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, a legendary figure in the civil rights movement, reported that the struggle started on May 4, 1961, when 16 white and black young men and women boarded a Greyhound bus in Washington, D.C., bound for the segregated South with the final destination being New Orleans.

Dubbed the "Freedom Ride," the passengers’ had one daunting goal: to test the Supreme Court’s 1946 decision that called for the integration of interstate travel. Their bus was stoned and fire-bombed in Anniston, Alabama, while those on a second bus were beaten by a mob in Birmingham.

Rev. Lawson, a young Nashville minister at the time, joined the so-called "Freedom Riders" who continued south through Mississippi. They got as far as Jackson, where they were tried, convicted and sentenced to 60 days in the county jail.

The preacher told how he and others "worked on" jailers with smiles and decency, trying to get in touch with their humanity.

And he believed they were successful, even though their bus never got any closer to New Orleans. "I even became a pastor to one jailer, who wanted to talk to me about his family," the minister quipped.

But Rev. Lawson also sounded a more serious note. The lifelong practitioner of nonviolence lamented the fact that the United States had become a more violent society in the 44 years since the first Freedom Ride, having all but forgotten the nation’s spiritual legacy of nonviolent action.

He stressed that the movement of the ’50s and ’60s was "extremely" incomplete. Moreover, he warned that our democracy was more in peril today than at any time in its history.

"The Freedom Ride was one of the significant campaigns, and something that helped to shape my own life," said Rev. Lawson. "I urge each of us to make ourselves a committee of one --- to organize our lives in resistance to the wrongs in our land.

"We must turn this country away from war towards peace, away from greed towards an economy that has a human face, away from violence towards the infinite possibilities of becoming a land of nonviolence."

Bellarmine Forum

The luncheon culminated a week-long series of classes, workshops, lectures and readings at LMU’s fifth annual Bellarmine Forum. This year’s topic --- "Just Community: For All" --- was explored through panel discussions, speaker presentations, documentaries, artistic expression and one-on-one mentoring.

Particular sessions included "Why a Sense of Global Community Is Needed to Survive the Coming World-wide Energy Crisis," "Ending Global Poverty," "Connecting the Dots: Revealing the True Complexity of Domestic Violence," "Burnings and Bigotry: Confronting the Challenge of Hate" and "The Impact of Local News on a Just Society for All."

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also spoke at the luncheon with passion about the unfinished work of the civil rights movement.

"The younger people who are here should take a good look at the faces of people honored here today, and recognize that that torch of liberty that they’ve carried these many years is a torch that must be handed over to others," he said. "I just want you to know that we have a lot of work to do."

The mayor noted that while minorities are no longer barred at the front door of the schoolhouse, half the students in the Los Angeles Unified School District drop out before finishing high school.

He also pointed out that there was still too much poverty in America. Hurricane Katrina had revealed the "dark underbelly of race and class" in New Orleans, he said, but similar pockets of racial poverty existed in Detroit, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

"So it’s important that we acknowledge the heroism, the sacrifices, the idealism, the optimism, the determination of the Freedom Riders," Villaraigosa remarked. "But it’s also important that those of us in positions of power and influence use that influence to continue to call the nation to its better angels.

"I think that’s the best way we can remember the Freedom Riders," he said. "To recognize that their work’s not done. To accept and embrace that optimism of their era."

Transfer student Lindsey Pollock listened to three Freedom Riders in her morning "Racial Identity and Social Justice" class. She heard Mike Grubbs talk about the 51 days he spent in jail where he learned what freedom was all about; Carroll Ruth Silver say the ride was the "defining event" in her life because she actually stood up for what she believed; and Ralph Fertig describe the brutal beating he got for being a "nigger lover."

"What they said was really amazing," exclaimed the 20-year-old coed, her eyes still wide. "I had no idea what they went through. They’re just amazing people."

Pollock was particularly struck by what all three said about racism not being dead, and the responsibility students like her had to eliminate this evil.

"Sometimes I feel strongly about what I think needs to be addressed worldwide, but especially within our borders, because I do feel there are some things that are backtracking," she said. "And it’s totally up to our generation to take charge and make a difference again, and use these wonderful people as an example to really stick up for what you stand for no matter what.

"Because you will have made ripple effects like them. That’s one of the biggest things that I got from this. So I’m going to do my darndest to go out there and help in any way possible, whether it’s just smiling at someone on the street.

"But we have a legacy," the college student added, "and I think it’s our obligation to pass it on."

http://www.the-tidings.com/2005/1118/freeriders.htm