The Freedom Riders were activists who rode interstate buses in 1961 to challenge segregated bus terminals.
The campaign began on May 4, 1961, when an interracial group organized by the Congress of Racial Equality departed Washington, D.C. The riders traveled through the South to test whether terminals complied with Supreme Court rulings that prohibited segregation in interstate transportation facilities.
The journeys met violent resistance, including the firebombing of a bus near Anniston, Alabama, and attacks on riders in Birmingham and Montgomery. Despite the danger, additional volunteers continued the rides, including students and activists from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
The campaign led the Interstate Commerce Commission to enforce desegregation rules more firmly. Freedom Riders are sometimes confused with the 1965 Selma marchers, but the two campaigns focused on different forms of discrimination and occurred four years apart.