Riders Remembered
Anniston trail highlights changes since 1961
In 1961, historians note that a band of courageous civil rights activists challenged segregation in the American South.
Fueled by “Jim Crow” laws that affected almost every aspect of daily life, the foot soldiers sought to end the segregation of schools, parks, libraries, drinking fountains, restrooms, buses, trains and restaurants. “Whites Only” and “Colored” signs were constant reminders of the enforced racial order of the day.
Thirteen people left Washington, D.C., May 4, 1965, in two buses with one goal: challenge segregated travel facilities throughout the South. The black and white passengers became known as the “Freedom Riders.”
National news reports told of the Freedom Riders meeting resistance and violence, being arrested in Charlotte, N.C., and attacked in Rock Hill, S.C., before arriving in Atlanta on May 13 to meet with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On Mother’s Day 1961, reporters saw the Greyhound bus firebombed, tires slashed and windows broken by a mob outside Anniston. An hour later, the Trailways bus pulling into the Anniston terminal was boarded by the Ku Klux Klan, who beat the Freedom Riders as newsmen watched. When the Trailways bus reached Birmingham, Freedom Riders were attacked by Klansmen aided by police. The stories of the attacks were seen worldwide.
As Americans celebrate Black History Month and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the pivotal moments of the civil rights movement, Anniston is saluting the Freedom Riders through the Anniston Civil Rights and Heritage Trail. Spearheaded by the Spirit of Anniston Foundation and supported by Alabama Power, the trail focuses on the positive changes in Anniston, said Gayle Macolly, Spirit board member.
“We know the 1961 bus burning and attacks was an awful and disturbing event that created painful memories and an image that has haunted the city for 50 years,” Macolly said. “In African-American studies classes, numerous books, websites, documentaries and museums across the country, that famous photograph has been emblazoned and used to symbolize the South’s violent history.”
The first two stops on the Anniston trail, located at Ninth and Noble streets and Gurnee Avenue, are murals depicting the two buses as they arrived to a crowd filled with Klan members. The next stop is a mural on West 15th Street depicting the African-American community in Anniston in 1961. The goal is to use the trail murals and a future commemorative park as an economic catalyst.
“Commemorating the Freedom Riders and to focus on the positive changes in Anniston since those terrible times, the Spirit organization hoped the creation of the Anniston Civil Rights and Heritage Trail would help to educate local residents and visitors alike, be a springboard for economic development, and ultimately become a model for racial reconciliation,” Macolly said.
Southeast Distribution Manager Jim Freind is a former Spirit board member who supports the trail.
“Alabama Power knows that this is a project with such a significant impact not only for the Anniston community, but to all who come to Anniston to learn about what happened on that day,” Freind said. “As we celebrate Black History Month and the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement, we hope our efforts will help to transform Anniston in the eyes of the nation and the world.”
