What did the freedom riders actually do?
In the South during desegregation, blacks had to ride in the back of the bus. If whites wanted the seats, blacks had to give them up. And, often times, a white guy would get on the bus early and sit very near the back, leaving only one or two rows for black passengers. This, of course, meant very few black passengers could ride the bus. And, no, there were not separate buses provided for black passengers. If they were forced off the bus because of a lack of seats, they had to wait for the next bus and hope for a seat on that bus. The bus terminals were also segregated with separate restrooms, water fountains and seating areas. If there was a restaurant in the terminal, the seating area was for whites only. Blacks had to go outside and get their food from a side door and eat outside the restaurant. What made the Freedom Riders dangerous for the South was the fact that they were integrated and whites and blacks sat together. Also when they came into an area, the riders, regardless of rac
