The Freedom rides were the events that were inspired by the American freedom rides to give equal rights to black people as what the white people have. Back before 1967 in Australia many of the aborigines were treated very poorly and many people have been discriminative and racially insulting and abusing them for a long time. The people who stood to take action for better rights had been non liked at all and usually were insulted by many people and then they would take their reactions and make aggression out of it. The white people all tried covering up the situation but that was not what the student action for aboriginals wanted, they wanted everyone one to know the truth and they did not like that at all and that is when people reacted. The freedom riders had many emotions over the course of the trip, they were furious, upset, angry and scared but they never gave up throughout the trip. But then the event was broadcasted on the news then people really knew what was going on and were upset that the aborigines were actually being treated this way. Many people reacted differently to the rides but at the end of the day the freedom riders eventually got what they want to achieve, equal rights. Were they Racially insulted? During the freedom rides most the people that were a part of or involved in the freedom rides …show more content…
had been spat on called “niggers’ and threatened to be bashed all because they were trying to raise awareness about the state that the aboriginals had been living in and been treated. The SAFA had encountered many heated conversations along the way with the local white people they had visited during the trip having been accused of disturbing everything in the town and stating that the local aboriginals were happy with the way things were. When the whole SAFA had arrived at Walgett they had come to only find out that the men had been raping the aboriginal women and they had a family of their own and when the bus arrived the some of the aboriginal women stood up to them calling out their names and embarrassing them in front of a big crowd. Then after they left a truck followed them out of town and tried to ram them off the road with a big truck but only got the bus off the side of the road and they went on but thought they were being followed because there was 10 cars behind them so they were all scared that they were hostile. In Moree they had finally been allowed into the pool but when they had to leave the local people had thrown rotten vegteables and fruits at them while also throwing rocks and spitting on them. Then when they returned to their hotel they had been beaten by the people in the hotel across the road and even the camera man had been knocked to the ground that was when police gave warning to have them leave the town. What were peoples reactions to the bus as it came through the their home towns? Because the bus was for an anti-racism campaign when the bus came through many of the cities it was eventually well known and people did not like that a single bit. Many of the people had thrown eggs and rotten vegetables and fruit at it and even stones. When the bus was leaving Walgett a truck had followed it out of town and rammed the bus off the road, fortunately no body was harmed and the bus was never tipped. When the people of Moree saw the protesters out the front of the pool they became violent and aggressive towards the protesters and started threatening and throwing foreign object at them. The SAFA students were scared and did not know what to expect as the crowd were chanting and yelling at them on the bus and outside of the bus. The peoples reactions to the protesting? When they protested in Walgett it was described that the crowd of people watching the SAFA protesters were watching as if it was the first time they had ever watched television or to see a rocket ship go into space for the first time.
But anger did break out at many of the protest with foreign objects being flung at them and heated conversations with threats broke out as well. The people of Moree were furious and violent when all the aboriginal kids tried to get into the pool all the people were verbally abusing them and also racially insulting them so the group came back and they fought the colour bar at the Moree baths and eventually they were allowed
in. How did the people on the Freedom rides feel? During the ride many of the local white folk had not been to kind to them and in most towns that they went to they were either racially insulted, threatened and sometimes even abused verbally and physically. The people on the freedom ride were trying to raise awareness for Aboriginal rights to take action for the horrible conditions that they have been living in and they were all equally disgusted and disgraced with how they were being treated. When they did finally have success at the pool in Moree they felt much joy for the local aboriginal kids to swim in the pool and they all had a sense of accomplishment. But after they had success in the town many of the people in Moree were angry and unsettled with the fact that they had disturbed the system that they had going and they had broke out the anger with violence. All the people who was on the ride was scared and nervous because they knew that the violence and anger in people were growing and they all had to be cautious. A few of the teenage white boys wanted to beat up the university group because they believed that they were disturbing the peace and the local aborigines were happy as they were. What was the reaction of local aboriginal people that were being surveyed and asked questions about their living conditions? The local aboriginals of Walgett were very shy and different when the university students talked to them and they all seemed to be happy with the current living conditions that they were living in. When the protesting was at the Walgett RSL the aboriginal people joined in the conversations with the crowd to help out the university students and the local women came out the front to call names of white men who had been raping the local women and they did this with rage and anger making the crowd disappear bit by bit. The Aboriginal children of Moree had been treated with disrespect and racial insults they were put down for their race even though they were allowed in the pool the day before. They did as they were told but did not succeed and probably felt very upset with all the anger. What were the Peoples that was broadcasting reaction and when it was broadcasted what was the peoples reaction? The people who were broadcasting the freedom ride were shocked with what was happening and wanted to take action against what was happening by putting an article in the paper from the herald to the Local papers as well. The newspapers even had the story as a hit overseas especially in America and England and emphasised that they should not be disgraced to have a nigger as a neighbour and that the Australian people should be ashamed of themselves for what was happening in Walgett and that they should not feel smug at all for what happened in America. The press had questioned premier Renshaw about what happened to the bus and denied it of ever happening and he also denied to the fact that there was any discrimination in Walgett and also stated that if the kids, adults and anybody else who behaved were allowed to swim in the pool. He also stated that the kids were attending public schools and that a housing project is underway to improve the living conditions of the local aboriginal people. But that was all a lie and the freedom ride students were not happy with what he said and so would many other native indigenous people as well. Conclusion Therefore the Freedom rides were a success story in the end but at the time the victory did not come easy. The white folk of the towns were the aborigines had lived were very hostile and offensive towards them and also toward the students when they arrived on the bus into town they all wanted them out. Even the carers for the Aboriginal folk had said that the conditions were fine and that they were happy with what they had and that was not the case. And the people were never happy to see the bus come through their home towns as the bus gained more popularity the more white people hated it and wanted it gone and that is why the people reacted in response to the bus and the freedom riders.
Freedom Crossing talks about how someone point of view can change completely. Laura went back North to live with her father and brother, Bert she had recently been living in the South with her aunt and uncle. One night she fond Bert talking to Joel (an old friend) in the middle of the night about whether or not Martin (a runaway slave) can stay with they until Joel could come back and take Martin to the place where a boat will pick Martin up and take him to The Promised Land, Laura said that she did not care if Martin stayed with them or not, even though deep down she knew it wasn’t right and that they shouldn’t do it. The day after they decided that Martin could stay Laura found out that Martin could read, but his master
The 1965 Freedom Ride exhibition introduced to many the Students Actions for Aboriginals organizations and explained how students from the University of Sydney drew national and international attention to the poor living conditions of Aboriginal people and the racism that was rife in New South Wale country towns from 12-26 February 1965. This event marked the beginning of resetting the relationships between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people in contemporary Australia. Aboriginal people weren’t counted as citizens and they faced a lot of discrimination. But Charles Perkins wanted to change that. He was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from university. He was also a big fan of American civil rights activist Martin Luther King. So, inspired by events King championed in US, Charles organised a
Black liberation was stalled once again in 1961 and 1962, as white savagery reared its head again and black people were forced to deal with the reality that success was not inevitable, yet. Still more "sit-ins", "shoe- ins" were led to combat segregation in public places which were met with violent responses from some white people. These responses ranged from burning down a bus with black people to assaulting black passengers on a train car in Anniston. These racist white people also targeted other white people who were deemed as sympathizers to black struggle or "nigger lovers". Police refused to arrest the white aggressors and in some cases also refused to protect the black people. The Freedom Rides resulted in both losses and gains in the civil rights movement. People came to the realization that justice will not be won through merely trying to persuade Southern whites with peaceful protest but only "when
Stanley Nelson chronicles the journey of a group of individuals, known as the Freedom Riders, whom fought for the rights of African Americans to have the same amenities and access as the Caucasians. The purpose of the Freedom Rides was to deliberately violate the Jim Crow laws of the south that prohibited blacks and whites from mixing together on buses and trains. Expectedly, many of the Freedom Riders were beaten and the majority was imprisoned. This carried on for the majority of 1961 and culminated with the Interstate Commerce Commission issuing an order to end the segregation in bus and rail stations. Nelson encapsulates this entire movement in about two hours. At the end of the two hours, the viewer is emotionally tied to the riders. For the sake of this analysis, I will focus on a portion towards the end of the film that gives us a sense of what kind of emotions victory evoked from those vested in the Freedom Rides. Nelson’s pairing of music and song coupled with a mixture of pictures and footage provides great emphasis to the subject matter while emotionally connecting the viewer.
The focus of the video documentary "Ain't Scared of your Jails" is on the courage displayed by thousands of African-American people who joined the ranks of the civil rights movement and gave it new direction. In 1960, lunch counter sit-ins spread across the south. In 1961, Freedom Rides were running throughout the southern states. These rides consisted of African Americans switching places with white Americans on public transportation buses. The whites sat in the back and black people sat in the front of the public buses. Many freedom riders faced violence and defied death threats as they strived to stop segregation by participating in these rides. In interstate bus travel under the Mason-Dixon Line, the growing movement toward racial equality influenced the 1960 presidential campaign. Federal rights verses state rights became an issue.
Even though many of the protesters were severely beaten, they still stood their stance and got the message out. What is a Riot? According to Encyclopedia.gov a riot “is a social occasion involving relatively spontaneous collective violence directed at property, persons, or authority.” There are five main
This documentary, “The Freedom Riders” shows the story of courageous civil rights activists called ‘Freedom Riders’ in 1961 who confronted institutionalized and culturally-accepted segregation in the American South by travelling around the Deep South on buses and trains.
In 1964 there was a protest outside the US consulate in Canberra that two thousand people had attended to protest about racial segregation and civil rights in the United States. Many people of the general public stated things such as if protesters are going to so much trouble why not protest about racial segregation within our own country. These comments had lead to the making of our own Australian Freedom Riders which were based on the American Freedom Riders who were making a difference with civil rights and discrimination in America. They travelled across America to raise awareness of the issues when it came to the African-American’s rights and they helped achieve equality. The Australian Freedom Riders helped in achieving freedom for the Indigenous Australians just like the Americans.
Foner, Eric and John A. Garraty. "Freedom Rides." The Reader's Companion to American History. 1 Dec. 1991: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 May. 2014. .
The Australians got the ideas of non-violent direct action from Martin Luther King Jr and the bus trip going around a significant amount of distance protesting and raising awareness for the affected race, when a group of students went to the United States to protest against racial segregation in 1964. The events that had helped the 1965 Freedom Rides by SAFA to become a success, in the United States, include the Birmingham Campaign and Martin Luther King Jr’s
Since the media covered this riot people began seeing it more as discrimination and took is amongst themselves to fix the problem their way. It was easily perceived that the focus of this was on racial discrimination but let’s not forget it as well has to do with police force, which is known has police brutality. The angry rioters responded by dragging a white truck driver whose name is Reginald Denny into the streets and severely beaten. This was being broadcasted live on local television. This is when viewers saw that the police were unable to enforce the
Holmes, Marian Smith. "The Freedom Riders, Then and Now | History & Archaeology | Smithsonian Magazine." History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian Magazine. Web. 05 Jan. 2012. .
...be enforced. Olds wrote, "The Freedom Riders were an integrated group of highly motivated, well-disciplined, dedicated people" and the Rides were "effective as a demonstrations of strength, a source of leverage for influential coalitions, and a means for focusing public attention on the issue of civil rights" (18). Those involved single-handedly expanded the freedoms of all African-American citizens to travel throughout the United States. During the rides, the civil rights struggle reached a level of intensity that even sit-ins had managed to avoid" but though times were turbulent, the rides were effective, furthering the advancement of the African American people (Arsenault 3).. Through the most violent and fearsome events, the Freedom Riders stood firm to their cause which led them to be one of the most influential and effective parts of the Civil Rights Movement.
On November 21st, 1855 what would become known as bleeding Kansas began a pro-slavery advocate shot Charles dow, an advocate for the freedom of slaves. In May of 1856 proslavery advocates seized the town of Lawrence and burned down a hotel, destroyed two newspaper offices and looted homes throughout the town. Eventually, these hostilities led to outright battles between the so-called “free state men” and pro-slavery men. John Brown would rise, an abolitionist who believed violence would change slavery. During bleeding Kansas, he led abolitionists into “battle” ( small skirmishes) against pro-slavery men. His leadership gained the support from other abolitionists.leading to a small following. In May 1856 they conducted the Pottawatomie massacre, in which they killed 5 members of the pro-slavery movement, and he also was famous for the rain on Harpers Ferry. John Brown's most notable act was his raid on Harper's Ferry, in which he and his followers attempted to start a slave insurrection by arming them with weapons looted from the federal armory. His attempt ultimately failed, but not before 7 people were killed. These tensions and acts of violence these actions between the abolitionist movement and
There were several causes which led to this riot and the immediate cause was racial tension. Racism tends to persist most readily when there are obvious physical differences among groups e.g. “Black” and “white” differences. This no doubt results in attempts to limit economic opportunities, to preserve status, to deny equal protection under law and to maintain cheap labor. Discrimination was represented ...