On 7pm, Thursday, March 25, Non-Violent Peacemaking Group had a showing. Freedom Riders is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives—and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws in order to test and challenge a segregated interstate travel system, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism.

Click on the image above or here to watch the documentary on PBS.

After watching the documentary, here are some questions to deepen your reflection:

What qualities do you think make an effective leader?

What leadership qualities did Diane Nash demonstrate?

Are there times that you have considered yourself a leader? When? What were the circumstances? What causes matter to you?

What have you done, or what would you like to do, to address them

Do politicians make the political climate or does the climate make the politician? \

How do you think Gpv/ John Patterson would answer that question?

What about this decision do you think he regrets?

What factors does he suggest led to his decision//

What is nonviolent direct action?

Why was this strategy chosen for the Freedom Rides and other civil rights struggles?

In what ways was this strategy challenging to the student participants in the Freedom Rides?

How did the participants prepare for the rides?