May 28, 2014 - 1:24 pm

in 1961, civil rights activists boarded interstate buses, making trips throughout the American South, to protest segregation in bus terminals. The group started out with 13 people but many joined the movement. Dr. Bernard Lafayette Jr. was inspired to become a freedom rider and played a key role early on in the organizing of the Selma, Alabama voting rights campaign. KBCS’s Sonya Green interviewed Dr. Layfayette Jr. about his experiences as a freedom rider and civil rights leader, in this four-part series.

Part 1 – Dr. Lafayette Jr. discusses his role as a freedom rider

Part 2 – He recounts details from the day the freedom riders arrived at Montgomery bus terminal and were met with mob violence

Part 3 – How he and other civil rights leaders trained for non-violence

Part 4 – Shares his take on the state of our political literacy today

Producer Sonya Green