The Freedom Rides at Fifty: Remembering an Early Challenge to Segregation
On the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides, James Wolfinger takes participants beyond the well-known history of Martine Luther King, Jr. to examine how freedom riders risked their lives to challenge segregation. Their actions pressured the federal government to finally end segregation in interstate bus and train travel and set the stage for protest strategies African Americans used in the future.
James Wolfinger has taught U.S History at the high school and college level for sixteen years. He has made numerous presentations at conferences and has worked with teachers through Teaching American History grant programs, the DePaul Humanities Center, and the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago. He has also made a number of media appearances on NBC, CNBC, PBS, and WGN.
