On May 4, 1961, a group of 13 black and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Rides, a lot of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus rules. The Freedom Riders, who were recruited by the Congress of Racial Equality CORE, a U.S. civil rights group, separated from Washington, D.C., and attempted to integrate facilities at bus rules along the way into the Deep South. Black Freedom Riders tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters, and all opposite. The group encountered a lot of violence from white protestors along the rode, but also drew international attention to their cause. Over the next few months, several hundred Freedom Riders engaged in similar actions.