American Experience

Freedom Riders

Season 23, Episode 11 of 11

In 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. Many states violently enforced the policy, while the federal government, under the Kennedy administration, remained indifferent, preoccupied with matters abroad. That is, until an integrated band of college students ? many of whom were the first in their families to attend a university ? decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders, and they managed to bring the president and the entire American public face-to-face with the challenge of correcting civil-rights inequities that plagued the nation.

Previously Aired

Day
Time
Channel
10/11/2020
10:30 p.m.
10/12/2020
2 a.m.
4/1/2023
8 p.m.
4/2/2023
1 a.m.
4/6/2023
2 p.m.
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