[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1779 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1779

          Honoring the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 17, 2010

  Mr. Lewis of Georgia submitted the following resolution; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
          Honoring the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides.

Whereas, on May 4, 1961, a Greyhound bus left Washington, DC with black and 
        white passengers and traveled South to challenge discriminatory racial 
        segregation laws;
Whereas, while the travels of these passengers were initially called a Journey 
        of Reconciliation, their efforts would come to be known as the Freedom 
        Rides;
Whereas these Southern-bound passengers, known as the Freedom Riders, were 
        united by their commitment to end segregation and ongoing racial 
        discrimination;
Whereas the Freedom Riders traveled into states where Jim Crow laws were still 
        prevalent, thus challenging the Federal Government to enforce its 
        decision to overturn them by non-violently integrating the bus routes 
        and rest stops;
Whereas, on their journeys during the Summer of 1961, the Freedom Riders would 
        stop at locations in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South 
        Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and 
        Louisiana;
Whereas, at many times during the Freedom Rides, the Riders encountered 
        antagonism, verbal abuse, acts of violence, and incarceration, yet never 
        gave up their commitment to equality and social justice;
Whereas, led by James Farmer and the Congress of Racial Equality, the Freedom 
        Riders were successful in part due to their role-playing preparation and 
        practice in non-violence and Gandhian principles;
Whereas the Freedom Riders' non-violent actions would help expose to the Nation 
        and the world the cruelty and injustice of Jim Crow laws; and
Whereas the Freedom Rides would spur the Kennedy Administration to enforce laws 
        and judicial rulings that guaranteed the rights and safety of all 
        passengers, regardless of race, gender, or religious background, to sit 
        wherever they desired on bus routes and at rest stops: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) honors the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides; and
            (2) recognizes the extraordinary leadership and sacrifice 
        of the Freedom Riders in their commitment to ending racial 
        segregation in America.
                                 <all>