Bergman said, and this is going back to the why, people were choosing to take a stand. He was one of the people I believe, if correct me from wrong, but in the memoir, you talked about how Dr. Roy Wood, Jr.: Let's stay right there for a second with Dr. They said "We're going to take care of you." And believe it or not, they tried. Bergman and his wife, so they were more or less like my parents. So it was really encouraging when I got there, the meet of the Whites that were involved, it was really surprising. But other than that, our Association, we were really lone wolves operating alone in Atlanta. There was one White fellow that was in my freshman English class. How much interaction had you had with White allies up into that point before you got to DC and met the people that you would be on the bus with?Ĭharles Person: In the Atlanta movement, unfortunately, we had very few Whites participate. Roy Wood, Jr.: Now the Freedom Riders were comprised of young and old, men and women, more importantly, White and Black. So all this was new, and at 18, it was quite an adventure. ![]() I'd never left the state of Georgia before. But convincing Mom, you know, everywhere they're going to worry. The men in the family supported me, and that's what made it possible. ![]() And no one realized that when laid in store for the Freedom Riders, but Dad more or less convinced her that I would be okay. Now she knew that I was active in the Atlanta movement, that I had been in jail, and like most parents, she figured there was not much more that could happen to me. I just explained to her that I was going to be seen for advanced training in nonviolence. But don't be worried.’Ĭharles Person: Well, I didn't quite tell her the whole truth. You're 18 when you decide to become a Freedom Rider, how did you convince your Mama to say yes? ‘Hey, Mama, I'm going on a racism tour down South. My first question to you, just out the gate. Whereas with your memoir, you were able to really get into the why people chose to do what they did. And the thing that I really enjoyed about your memoir is that you didn't just go into what happened and often when I, when we look at a lot of the media that's created around the civil rights - but I'm talking TV and film primarily. I hope some of these you haven't been asked before, but the book, the memoir, pardon me. And that's before we even get to the medals that are on your chest as a Marine Corps veteran, just thank you for what you all chose to do in that ride down South. Roy Wood, Jr.: Well, let me start just on the behalf of all of Black America, brother Person, and just tell you, thank you. I'll let the two of them take it from here. Raised in Birmingham, he has written that Alabama represents to him painful history, new hope and home. is a comedian best known for his work on The Daily Show. Person has just published a memoir of his experiences and a call to action for change: Buses are a Comin'. Freedom Riders sat down on these buses in order to stand up for the truest of our nation's ideals. Brutal violence in Alabama showed that when it came to integration, the nation was failing. ![]() Freedom Riders rode buses across the South to test Supreme Court rulings declaring segregation unconstitutional in restrooms, bus depots, and waiting areas. Today, we are honored to welcome Charles Person and Roy Wood, Jr.Ĭharles Person was a Freedom Rider. My name is Kat, and I'm a Park Ranger at Freedom Riders National Monument and Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. Join Park Rangers, researchers, authors and activists as we discuss what liberty and justice for all means on our public land. To climb mountains both physical and figurative. National Parks inspire us to do better, be better. They are spaces of remembrance, founded to preserve the stories of who we are and how we came to be. King's childhood home, Japanese internment camps, and a school that became a battleground for racial integration? Are you picturing waterfalls and mountains? Or do you think of Dr. Welcome to We Will Rise: National Parks and Civil Rights.Ĭlose your eyes and imagine a National Park.
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