What is an example of the legacy of The Freedom Riders?
They bore considerable dignity in part due to their training in the tactics of non-violent resistance. The Freedom Riders, together with other confrontations spearheaded by young activists, helped reinvigorate the civil rights movement and transform it into a movement of mass protest. The activities of the Freedom Riders also exacerbated divisions within the movement and were a part of the broader generational and social conflicts of the turbulent 1960s. The Freedom Riders and Freedom Rides accelerated important changes in public attitudes toward racial issues in the South, led to stronger federal interventions in support of the movement and produced tangible gains for blacks. The lasting legacy of the Freedom Riders is more mixed, but nevertheless represents a vivid reminder of their courageous efforts to further the cause of equal rights for black Americans.
