Contact: Wendi Lewis, Marketing and Public Relations Manager
wendi.lewis@ahc.alabama.gov, 334-230-2680
May 13, 2021
Restored Vintage Greyhound Bus to
retrace Freedom Rides route from Ardmore to Montgomery
(Montgomery,
AL) – The restored vintage Greyhound bus that is part of the Freedom Rides
Museum permanent collection will retrace part of the journey of the Freedom
Riders beginning May 18. The bus will visit Ardmore, Tennessee, and Birmingham,
Alabama, before arriving in Montgomery at 10:23 a.m. on May 20 – the date and time
the bus arrived in the city 60 years ago, where student Freedom Riders were met
with violence. The bus will arrive at the Freedom Rides Museum, a historic
property of the Alabama Historical Commission.
The bus tour carries out the theme of the year-long commemoration
of the 60th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides, “Retracing the
Journey. Passing the Torch.” The Freedom Rides, which took place throughout the
South beginning on May 4, 1961, and continued through that summer, would
ultimately lead the Interstate Commerce Commission to issue regulations
prohibiting segregation in interstate transit terminals in the fall of 1961,
under pressure from the Kennedy administration. This affected all interstate
travel including bus, train and air travel.
“By taking the newly restored Greyhound bus on a tour of the stops
where the Freedom Riders encountered their most violent resistance, the Alabama
Historical Commission is bringing the history of the Freedom Riders and their
message of equality as the basis of American democracy to new generations in
the context of where these historic events occurred,” said Alabama Historical
Commission Chairman Eddie Griffith. “This ride is planned as the first of other
tours planned throughout the South to bring this history to its citizens.”
The tour will visit the following cities and locations:
· Ardmore, Tennessee – May 18, Program beginning at 4 p.m.
Ardmore Public Library
25836 Main Street
· Birmingham, Alabama – May 19, Bus open to the public at 3 p.m.; Program beginning at
5 p.m.
Birmingham Public Library
2100 Park Place
· Montgomery, Alabama – May 20, Bus will arrive at 10:23 a.m.
Freedom Riders will be available for book signings
afterward in the museum.
Freedom Rides Museum
210 South Court Street
Visitors in each city will have the opportunity to board the bus
and be immersed in some of the sounds, stories and songs of the Freedom Rides
and view a suitcase exhibit encouraging them to envision what it would take for
them to make such a journey. In some locations, original Freedom Riders will
participate in the program.
The tour
concludes at the Freedom Rides Museum, which is located in the historic
Greyhound bus station where the student Freedom Riders arrived in Montgomery on
May 20, 1961. In the late 1990s, when the bus station was threatened with
demolition, the AHC joined concerned citizens to fight for its preservation.
Working closely with the General Services Administration, the Federal Court,
and others, the AHC made the Freedom Rides Museum a reality, opening in 2011 on
the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides. This year the museum celebrates its
10th anniversary.
“Preservation
efforts like the one that saved the Greyhound bus station are at the heart of
what we do,” said Lisa D. Jones, Executive Director of the Alabama Historical
Commission and State Preservation Officer. “We work with concerned citizens and
community partners to identify historic places that are in danger, then develop
and execute a plan to preserve and protect them. Sharing their stories keeps
history alive.”
Rounding
out the 60th Anniversary commemoration, the Freedom Rides Museum is
partnering with filmmakers and affiliates
of “Son of the South” for a series of events designed to educate the public
about the events of the Freedom Rides. The film follows the life of a young Bob Zellner, the grandson
of a Klansman, as he makes the decision to become a civil rights activist. The
movie was shot in Montgomery, including a pivotal scene recreating the arrival
of the Freedom Riders at the Greyhound bus station that now houses the Freedom
Rides Museum.
Events will include a book signing at the Freedom Rides Museum
from 12-1 p.m., a showing of the film at 3 p.m. at the historic Capri Theatre
in the Cloverdale Historic District, and a broadcast
live-stream presentation featuring discussions with the filmmakers, Freedom
Riders, activists and actors open to the public at the Freedom Rides Museum at
6 p.m. For more information about the Capri showing, contact Martin McCaffery,
Capri Theatre: director@capritheatre.org. For more information about the film feature,
contact Verane Pick Brown: veranepick@me.com.
The
Freedom Rides Museum is a historic property of the Alabama Historical
Commission. For more information, visit www.ahc.alabama.gov.
About the Freedom Rides Museum
Working with concerned citizens, The
Alabama Historical Commission saved the Greyhound Bus Station from demolition
in the mid-1990s. The Museum is located at 210 S. Court Street, at the
intersection of S. Court St. and Adams Avenue in downtown Montgomery. An
award-winning exhibit on the building's exterior traces the Freedom Riders'
history. It uses words and images of the Freedom Riders, those who supported
them, and those who opposed them. Interior exhibits highlight additional
information on the Freedom Riders and the way in which buildings were designed
for racial segregation. Today, the Alabama Historical Commission operates this
significant site.
About the Alabama Historical Commission
Located in historic downtown Montgomery at 468 S. Perry
Street, the Alabama Historical Commission is the state historic preservation
agency for Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature
in 1966 with a mission to protect, preserve and interpret Alabama’s
historic places. AHC works to accomplish its mission through two fields of
endeavor: Preservation and promotion of state-owned historic sites and public
attractions and operation of statewide programs to assist people, groups,
towns, and cities with local preservation activities. For a complete list of
programs and properties owned and operated by the AHC, hours of operation, and
admission fees please visit ahc.alabama.gov
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