Schools
Celebrating Mississippi Freedom Rider 50th
First United Methodist Church of Birmingham, MI will hold two events honoring the Mississippi Freedom Riders 50th Anniversary on Sunday, June 5th and June 12th at 7:00 pm. Richard Gleason, recently seen on the Oprah show, will talk about his experience as a Freedom Rider.
In 1961, flagrant racial prejudice was widespread in the South. When nonviolent protestors challenged the segregation in buses and bus stations, mobs of angry whites beat the protestors and burned the buses. Publicity of these attacks shocked the nation, and inspired hundreds of brave people, black and white, to continue the nonviolent Freedom Rides. Besides the danger from beatings, the protestors also faced months in prison for violating the Jim Crow laws. After 4 months of Freedom Rides, the Interstate Commerce Commission ordered an end to segregation in transportation facilities.
Sunday, June 5th, at 7:00 pm, the church will show “Freedom Riders”, a two hour PBS documentary. This powerful film covers the harrowing, and ultimately inspirational, story of confrontations between angry mobs and nonviolent protesters and the unwavering commitment of the Freedom Riders to end the injustice of segregation.
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Sunday, June 12th at 7:00 pm, Freedom Rider, Richard Gleason (who rode the bus, with 13 others, June 2, 1961 from Montgomery to Jackson, Mississippi) will talk about his experiences; the accomplishments resulting from the 60’s civil rights movement and bridging the divide that remains.
Mr. Gleason will share highlights and slides of the week long Return of the Freedom Riders Reunion, a historic, national gathering in Jackson, Mississippi, honoring the 50th Anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Rides in May and his participation there in the Youth Leadership Conference for Social Justice.
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Mr. Gleason participated in the 1963 Birmingham, Alabama march when “Bull” Conner used fire hoses and dogs on demonstrators; Dr. King’s 1963 March on Washington; 1965 “Bloody Sunday,” and the Selma March to Montgomery in support of voting rights. He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, both in the South and in Chicago. Mr. Gleason lived and ministered in Chicago’s Stateway Gardens/ Robert Taylor Homes public housing projects 1958-1978.
For more information contact the church office at 248-646-1200. The church is located at 1589 W. Maple Road (between Southfield and Cranbrook)in Birmingham.
