Fry The Goddamn Niggers!!!

America, and by extension the western developed countries, seems to rollercoaster through phases of intolerance. Not so long ago, interned Japanese after the bombing of Pearl Harbor suffered at the hands of overzealous white Americans, and most recently, those who practice the Islamic faith readily share in measures aimed at marginalizing and criminalizing their behavior. The treatment of Aboriginals, Mexicans, Communists, and various religious sects were all meted out similar forms of persecution, as did many immigrants. Many continue to do so even in this so-called enlightened age.

Arguably none suffered more repression, injustice, and outright discrimination than those we now refer to as African Americans. And perhaps, no single period in United States history brought about significant mindful change than the Civil Rights Movement of the (largely) 1960’s. It would prove to be a collision of ideals and culture for which no amount of triage could have prepared a country enjoying one of its most prosperous eras in history.

A pivotal time was May, 1961 – 55 years ago. The Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), one of several groups in America dedicated to changing racially harmful practices and behaviors but mostly invisible to those outside such movements, set out to confirm the December, 1960 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Boynton v. Virginia which ruled that segregation in interstate transportation such as bus and rail lines was unconstitutional.

CORE knew what everybody else in the South knew – despite this ruling of the highest court in the land and the previous 1946 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, there were no changes to how things were done in Dixie. If you were white, you were granted the privilege of eating your lunch at the counter. If you were white, your restrooms were clean. If you were white, you were greeted with respect and a smile. If the pigment of your skin was anything other than white, you would be treated with contempt, you would order your meal from the back door of the restaurant, and you may or may not have more than a bucket to use as a toilet.

The Kennedy administration occupied the White House, but was wholly disinterested in domestic affairs. For brothers Jack and Robert, Russia was their focus and they viewed all domestic issues as distractions to their foreign agenda. African and Latin American countries were demanding independence from their European colonial oppressors, and Russia was swooping in on opportunities to expand their own influence and markets. With a recently toppled Cuba sitting on her doorstep, America felt she was losing ground.

On May 04th, 1961, the first of the Freedom Rides left Washington, DC. Destination New Orleans, LA. Boarding two regularly scheduled passenger busses, one Greyhound and one Trailways, the seven black and six white members of CORE embarked on a journey that would take them through some of the most segregated and bigoted parts of the South.

Knowing their mere presence in a segregated bus station would likely spark outrage and hostility, The Freedom Riders received intensive training in non-violent civil disobedience so as not to provoke the prevailing white angst.

The first leg of the trip was surprisingly uneventful as the busses, ninety minutes apart, travelled through Georgia. By the time the Greyhound bus entered Alabama on May 14th, Mother’s Day, the welcoming tension and mood was thick with hatred. The FBI learned that both the Greyhound bus and the Trailways bus were going to be intercepted and attacked by members and sympathizers of the Ku Klux Klan. The FBI did nothing, under apparent instructions from J. Edgar Hoover himself.

In the rural community of Anniston, Alabama, the Greyhound bus was confronted by Whites hell bent on sending their message to the country that no Supreme Court ruling was going to interfere with a way of life enjoyed by their pedigree.

The Greyhound was rocked back and forth in an attempt to topple it onto its side. The coach suffered countless dents after being pounded by the angry screaming mob armed with baseball bats, metal bars, bricks, and just about anything that could cause damage to a bus or a person. Inside, passengers, Freedom Riders or not, were terrified, helpless, and trapped.

As the petrified bus driver attempted to drive off, tires were slashed. And it was perhaps this one single act that was to contribute to the horror to come more so than any other. Chased by carloads of KKK members and sympathizers, many still dressed in their Sunday finest after attending church, the bus would come to a halt after about six miles, unable to continue on shredded tires, on the shoulder of what was felt to be the loneliest spot in America.

Far from uninhabited, that very spot was in front of the Forsyth and Son grocery store. The driver exited and abandoned the bus, leaving his passengers at the peril of the mob. He calmly walked to the store to escape the ensuing melee.

Back at the bus, things went from bad to worse. Surrounded again by the riotous horde, now even more blood thirsty after hunting it down like a pack of wolves, the Greyhound endured more vandalism. A window at the rear of the bus was quickly smashed and in was tossed an improvised Molotov Cocktail. One of the KKK members was heard to yell “Fry the Goddamn Niggers” as the bus interior caught fire. Another ordered "Burn them alive". The only door to escape was pushed shut from the outside by a group of fellow agitators, condemning those aboard to a certain death.

Two State Troopers arrived on scene, neither of which intervened. The bus interior continued to blaze, filling the coach with putrid smoke. Breathable air was a precious commodity. Later, it was reported that one of the Troopers was to have said to the frenzied throng something to the effect of ‘OK boys, you’ve had your fun’ as if to largely condone and lightly condemn simultaneously.

A few hyper voices among the KKK could then be heard frantically warning Klansmen to move away because the fuel tanks were about to explode. Only then was the exit door released. Klansmen scattered for safety, and the bus occupants were able to flee the engulfed coach with their lives scarcely intact. A few short seconds later, the fuel tanks burst into flames, consuming all but the coach’s hull. Miraculously, nobody died.

Stark photos taken at the scene showing the Greyhound bus fully involved quickly made nationwide newspapers. The accompanying lead stories recounted the incredulous moment by moment details of passenger’s terror.

What of the Trailways bus?

Not to be outdone by their corollory Klansmen of Anniston, as the Trailways bus pulled into Birmingham, Alabama, it was met with the full onslaught of a more organized, more ruthless, and better armed Klan that was protected not only by the prevailing white culture of Dixie, but also that of the infamous outwardly bigoted lawman Theophilus Eugene Connor.

Ensuring his cops were nowhere to be found for fifteen minutes, by prior arrangement with Klan leadership, ‘Bull’Connor, as he was known, gave the green light to the Klan to ambush the Freedom Riders and occupants of the Trailways bus. Without mercy, passengers were pulverized. Again, miraculously, nobody died.

While the Trailways coach was not torched, the shared fate of the two busses served to underscore the deep resentment White Southerners as a whole had toward the Yankees of the North. ‘How dare they interfere with our way of life!’ could be heard their Rebel Yell.

Perhaps what was not counted on by the likes of the Klan and Bull Connor, was how these two pivotal dark events would begin in a real meaningful way to serve in turning public opinion and government action in favor of ensuring U.S. Supreme Court civil rights rulings were enforced in the South.

The Kennedys were forced to act, as was Hoover’s FBI. Neither was happy about having to do so. Some would argue even today at how the Kennedy’s response contributed to at least one of the assassinations of Camelot. Most could not shrug off the possibility.

Some sixty Freedom Rides would take place over the summer months of 1961 following the Mother’s Day ambushes, each one a testament to the courage and fortitude of those willing to fight for a just America. Thankfully, none so violent and reprehensible.

For CORE, organizing and conducting these acts of passive civil disobedience meant it found a previously unattainable seat at important discussions to further the equality of Black America, on par with the likes of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the NAACP. And, certainly, doing so secured its rightful place in the history of furthering a Civil Rights Movement in America that continues to this day.