Freedom Riders

Cultural  

1. A group of northern idealists active in the civil rights movement. The Freedom Riders, who included both blacks and whites, rode buses into the South in the early 1960s in order to challenge racial segregation. Freedom Riders were regularly attacked by mobs of angry whites and received often belated protection from federal officers.

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Example Sentences

In Washington, the Freedom Riders had become an embarrassment to the Kennedy administration, which was being criticized in the European press for allowing the brutal attacks to happen.

From New York Times • Jul. 21, 2023

And we have Martin Luther King, and we have Rosa Parks, and we have the Freedom Riders.

From Slate • May 31, 2023

Belafonte, who helped launch one of the first voter registration drives in Mississippi and helped finance the Freedom Riders, also served as a middle man between King and Atty.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2023

He supported the Freedom Riders, who travelled on buses in the Southern states challenging racial discrimination, and he idolised Martin Luther King.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2023

Just when we were about to leave that idea alone, someone said, “That would make it even better because that’s where the Freedom Riders started their mission.”

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers