A civil rights campaign
organized by the Congress of Racial Equality
in 1961. Groups of interracial activist
s would ride interstate bus
es into South
ern towns and try to enter segregate
d bus stations. The results
were sometimes violent
with many of the riders being beaten
by the local police
. Stokely Carmichael
was one of the freedom riders who was jailed for nearly two months. Ultimately, the experiment
was successful as the violent reaction
s against peaceful action
brought national attention to the movement.
The second article of the Civil Rights Act (1964) made discrimination in public accomodations involved in interstate commerce illegal.