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May 23, 2012 | WDC: 66.2 °F
Washington’s source for compelling television and inspiring classical music
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders from American Experience is the powerful, harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives—and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South.
From award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, the film features testimony from the Riders themselves, state and federal government officials, and journalists who witnessed the Rides firsthand.
Freedom Riders from American Experience airs Monday, May 16 at 9:00 pm on WETA Television
Freedom Rides History
Learn more about the 1961 Freedom Rides through the Deep South — the people who participated, the violent resistance they faced, and how they advanced the Civil Rights Movement.
Smithsonian Panel Discussion
On February 9, 2011, the Smithonsian's National Museum of American History hosted a public screening of the film, which featured a panel discussion with filmmaker Stanley Nelson, original 1961 Freedom Riders Diane Nash, Rev. James Lawson and Jim Zwerg, and Raymond Arsenault, the author of Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice.
2011 Student Freedom Rides
From May 6-16, 40 college students will join original Freedom Riders in retracing the 1961 Rides from Washington, DC to New Orleans, LA. Students will participate in an intergenerational conversation about civic engagement. What does it mean today? What has changed since 1961? What inspires young people to “get on the bus”?
Filmmaker Interview
Read an interview with filmmaker Stanley Nelson about why he felt it was so important to make this film, the challenges that he experienced in putting it together, and the legacy of the original 1961 Freedom Riders.
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