LIFE photographeralso captured scenes from the Freedom Rider’s trips, often photographing National Guard troops around the busses and the interactions the group had challenging “white only” sections within bus terminals. Scherschel and Schutzer’s photos are from the leg of the Freedom Rides from Montgomery, AL to Jackson, MI.
Violence escalated as the group moved down to Alabama. The first bus was firebombed near Anniston. Klansmen ambushed the buses and nearly burned the riders alive. Similar violence occurred in Birmingham, where riders were dragged from the bus and beaten. At this point, the original Freedom Riders separated. Several flew to New Orleans to a rally, where they were scheduled to speak.
Rev. Ralph Abernathy sitting with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. while taking refuge in a Baptist church in Montgomery, 1961. Woman holding a sleeping child while sitting in support of the Freedom Riders at Montgomery Baptist church, 1961. The images of Lewis show his bandaged head, from wounds he received when he was beaten upon the group’s arrival to the Montgomery Greyhound bus terminal.
National Guard troops protecting the Montgomery Trailways bus station so the Freedom Riders can make a safe departure to Jackson, 1961. National Guard members sitting in front of Reverend C.T. Vivian on a bus with the freedom riders traveling from Montgomery, AL to Jackson, Mississippi, 1961.Demonstrations of hate continued, including by the Lincoln Rockwell “Hate Bus.” Seen along the routes of the Freedom Riders, the bus was adorned with slogans supporting white supremacy. Groups of white men dressed as Nazis rode the bus to speaking engagements of civil rights activists and followed the Freedom Riders.
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