Restored Vintage Greyhound Bus to Retrace Freedom Rides Route from Ardmore to Birmingham to Montgomery This Week
Where: The Central Library Parking Lot, 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203
Details: A restored vintage Greyhound bus that is part of the Freedom Rides Museum permanent collection in Montgomery will retrace part of the journey of the Freedom Riders this week. The bus will begin its journey in Ardmore, Tennessee, on Tuesday, May 18, before coming to Birmingham, Al. and stopping by the Central Library downtown beginning at 3:00 p.m. The bus will end its tour in Montgomery at 10:23 a.m. on Thursday, May 20 – the exact date and time the bus arrived in the city 60 years ago, where student Freedom Riders were met with violence. The bus will arrive at the Freedom Rides Museum, a historic property of the Alabama Historical Commission.
During the Birmingham visit, the public is invited to climb on the bus and get an idea of what the experience was like 60 years ago. Two Freedom Riders who participated in the 1961 event will be available for media interviews beginning at 5:00 p.m. Media requests for interviews related to the Freedom Ride stop at the Birmingham Public Library should be sent to Roy L. Williams at (205) 568-0067 or via email at roy.williams@cobpl.org.
Read the original press release from the Alabama Historical Commission below.
Restored Vintage Greyhound Bus to Retrace Freedom Rides Route from Ardmore to Montgomery
(Montgomery, AL) – The restored vintage Greyhound bus that is part of the Freedom Rides Museum permanent collection will retrace part of the journey of the Freedom Riders beginning May 18. The bus will visit Ardmore, Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama, before arriving in Montgomery at 10:23 a.m. on May 20 – the date and time the bus arrived in the city 60 years ago, where student Freedom Riders were met with violence. The bus will arrive at the Freedom Rides Museum, a historic property of the Alabama Historical Commission.
The Freedom Rides, which took place throughout the South beginning on May 4, 1961, and continued through that summer, would ultimately lead the Interstate Commerce Commission to issue regulations prohibiting segregation in interstate transit terminals in the fall of 1961, under pressure from the Kennedy administration. This affected all interstate travel including bus, train and air travel.
“By taking the newly restored Greyhound bus on a tour of the stops where the Freedom Riders encountered their most violent resistance, the Alabama Historical Commission is bringing the history of the Freedom Riders and their message of equality as the basis of American democracy to new generations in the context of where these historic events occurred,” said Alabama Historical Commission Chairman Eddie Griffith. “This ride is planned as the first of other tours planned throughout the South to bring this history to its citizens.”
The tour will visit the following cities and locations:
• Ardmore, Tennessee – May 18, Program beginning at 4 p.m. Ardmore Public Library 25836 Main Street
• Birmingham, Alabama – May 19, Bus open to the public at 3 p.m.; Program beginning at 5 p.m. Birmingham Public Library, 2100 Park Place
• Montgomery, Alabama – May 20, Bus will arrive at 10:23 a.m. Freedom Riders will be available for book signings afterward in the museum. Freedom Rides Museum 210 South Court Street
Visitors in each city will have the opportunity to board the bus and be immersed in some of the sounds, stories and songs of the Freedom Rides and view a suitcase exhibit encouraging them to envision what it would take for them to make such a journey. In some locations, original Freedom Riders will participate in the program.
The tour concludes at the Freedom Rides Museum, which is located in the historic Greyhound bus station where the student Freedom Riders arrived in Montgomery on May 20, 1961.
In the late 1990s, when the bus station was threatened with demolition, the AHC joined concerned citizens to fight for its preservation. Working closely with the General Services Administration, the Federal Court, and others, the AHC made the Freedom Rides Museum a reality, opening in 2011 on the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides. This year the museum celebrates its 10th anniversary.
“Preservation efforts like the one that saved the Greyhound bus station are at the heart of what we do,” said Lisa D. Jones, Executive Director of the Alabama Historical Commission and State Preservation Officer. “We work with concerned citizens and community partners to identify historic places that are in danger, then develop and execute a plan to preserve and protect them. Sharing their stories keeps history alive.”
Rounding out the 60th Anniversary commemoration, the Freedom Rides Museum is partnering with filmmakers and affiliates of “Son of the South” for a series of events designed to educate the public about the events of the Freedom Rides. The film follows the life of a young Bob Zellner, the grandson of a Klansman, as he makes the decision to become a civil rights activist. The movie was shot in Montgomery, including a pivotal scene recreating the arrival of the Freedom Riders at the Greyhound bus station that now houses the Freedom Rides Museum.
Events will include a book signing at the Freedom Rides Museum from 12-1 p.m., a showing of the film at 3 p.m. at the historic Capri Theatre in the Cloverdale Historic District, and a broadcast live-stream presentation featuring discussions with the filmmakers, Freedom Riders, activists and actors open to the public at the Freedom Rides Museum at 6 p.m. For more information about the Capri showing, contact Martin McCaffery, Capri Theatre: director@capritheatre.org. For more information about the film feature, contact Verane Pick Brown: veranepick@me.com.
The Freedom Rides Museum is a historic property of the Alabama Historical Commission. For more information, visit www.ahc.alabama.gov.
Working with concerned citizens, The Alabama Historical Commission saved the Greyhound Bus Station from demolition in the mid-1990s. The Museum is located at 210 S. Court Street, at the intersection of S. Court St. and Adams Avenue in downtown Montgomery. An award-winning exhibit on the building's exterior traces the Freedom Riders' history. It uses words and images of the Freedom Riders, those who supported them, and those who opposed them. Interior exhibits highlight additional information on the Freedom Riders and the way in which buildings were designed for racial segregation. Today, the Alabama Historical Commission operates this significant site.
Located in historic downtown Montgomery at 468 S. Perry Street, the Alabama Historical Commission is the state historic preservation agency for Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission to protect, preserve and interpret Alabama’s historic places. AHC works to accomplish its mission through two fields of endeavor: Preservation and promotion of state-owned historic sites and public attractions and operation of statewide programs to assist people, groups, towns, and cities with local preservation activities. For a complete list of programs and properties owned and operated by the AHC, hours of operation, and admission fees please visit ahc.alabama.gov
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