On the way to Birmingham we stopped in Anniston, Alabama. In the city lies pivotal moments during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, including the stops for buses becoming prominent targets for those fighting for equal rights called The Freedom Riders. These spots are now on the Anniston Civil Rights and Heritage Trail.
The first bus mural was easy to find once we stepped out of the restaurant we stopped for food. We began reading through the information available at the stop to learn more about participants of The Freedom Riders. The first mural is painted in the actual spot where the assaults began.
A federal law in 1960 made it illegal to segregate restrooms and depot restaurants serving traveling interstate passengers. To test out the new law in the south, and encourage the federal government to enforce the law, a group formed under the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Forming groups in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, they called themselves The Freedom Riders, and began riding across state lines on buses.
You can follow the timelines and progress of The Freedom Riders at the mural. The process to become a rider was detailed. They wanted people from different races, sexes, religion, and age to represent how diverse the people were standing up for civil rights. The candidates were interviewed and supplied references.
Once chosen everyone was given their places to sit on the bus and informed to dress formally. Men in dress suits and women in dresses and heels. A black rider was to sit where white people sat on the bus. An interracial pair were to sit in adjoining seats. The other riders were scattered throughout the bus. The following photo is the list of riders who participated on this bus.
The Alabamian Klu Klux Klan had learned of The Freedom Riders plans through the Birmingham Police Department. They had had been forwarded information from informants in the FBI. Working with the Birmingham police sergeant, Tim Cook, they set up an assault in Anniston. Anniston was the first stop in Alabama for The Freedom Riders. Their other planned stop after that was Birmingham.
The Greyhound Bus Depot at Gurnee 1031 was shut down before the bus arrived on the afternoon of May 16, 1961. The owner and his son found an aggressive crowd growing outside the station. They called the police. The police never showed.. The greyhound bus arriving with The Freedom Riders had been told about the shutdown station and angry crowd. The driver proceeded on arriving to the crowded station.
The crowd began beating the bus. One man laid in front of the bus to prevent it from leaving. The driver of the bus opened the door to let people on, but the crowd climbed in front to prevent people from getting on. They also began vandalizing the bus. They smashed windows and slashed tires. The incident began at 12:54 and went on till 1:10 p.m. This left 20 minutes till the police arrived but made no arrest.
The bus was escorted by police out of the city, but then left to the crowd following in cars once the police left. The slashed tires finally gave out making the bus pull over 6 miles away from Anniston. The Freedom Riders had been instructed to make no gestures or eye contact on these trips to provoke confrontation. They sat still as the crowd rocked the bus, smashed windows, and yelled for them to come out.
The riders were finally forced out when someone threw a bundle into the bus exploding into flames. They assaults retreated enough for them to escape after a fuel tank exploded. They beat the riders coming out of the bus, but some of the nearby neighbors began offering help to them. Agent Cowling had to force the ambulance driver to take the black injured to the hospital along with the white once an ambulance arrived.
The Greyhound bus was taken to evidence. The bus disappeared leaving no trace though.
At the site photos documenting the event are used with the timeline to tell the story. It makes a huge impact as you are reading, and seeing the bus that was here.
The riders were still antagonized at the hospital and were only treated with the encouragement of the FBI agent on scene. A call was made to Reverend Fred Shuttleworth in Birmingham who sent Deacons to protect the riders to travel Birmingham.
The riders could not continue on though because bus drivers refused to let them ride. They were forced to take airplanes to leave the state. They encountered more problems at the airport where they were refused service and bomb threats were received. A representative of Robert Kennedy, John Seigenthaler, had to arrive to take control of the situation. They eventually were able to depart.
Six men were indicted and charged federally in the case involving the bus burning. The greater outcome of The Freedom Riders was their ability to inspire other Americans from all walks of life to do the same acts and inspire the progression of Civil Rights, especially in places still not practicing enforcement of federal laws. The following photo shows the sources and further information regarding the panels I read from at this mural.
The Freedom Riders was such huge talk that even a local photographer for The Anniston Star was informed of the news beforehand. He showed up to take photos. He met speculation from Klansmen. When the photos of the burning bus were published he received threats regarding him and his family causing need for protection. The negative photos disappeared from the newspaper’s archives in 1995, Thankfully copies were found in 2005. The local law firm that had served defense for the Freedom Rider’s attackers at the time discovered them in files designated for destruction. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute was donated the photo copies by the law firm, Merrill, Merrill, Mathews, &Allen.
The Other Bus mural was a tad difficult to find. We asked some local businesses regarding where this one might be, but no one could refer us. We were determined though, so we kept walking till we stumbled upon it. Thankfully, the city wasn’t too big to be trying to find this in.
The Trailways bus attack is graphically, directly violent toward the riders who boarded the other bus in May 1961. Seven rode a Greyhound and seven others rode the Trailways. The Trailway riders faced horrific beatings, but the images didn’t capture as much attention as the burning Greyhound bus did.
Klansmen loaded the trailway bus earlier on allowing for 2 hours the riders spent on this bus till Anniston under threat. Arriving in Anniston they stopped for lunch. When they went to board the bus again, the bus driver threatened to not start the bus after hearing about the other bus that had been burned. The Freedom Riders refused to move to the segregated seating. The bus driver brought attackers on the bus with him to move the riders. The riders didn’t fight back as they were severely beaten. They continued on to Birmingham holding true to the cause they were testing.
These efforts did work. Anniston desegregated their lunch counters at terminals in November 1961. The following photo is a list of the Trailways Freedom Riders. It also notes one of the most prominent influences in helping those who were Freedom Riders in Alabama. Rev. Fred Shuttleworth was pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, and Co-Founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Pictured above is information and cited resources regarding the story featured on the other bus.
One panel also states contributors to the funding of these murals, and they list future sites they hope to add on the Anniston Civil Rights and Heritage Trail. It’s a stop worth visiting in Alabama, and I hope to go again one day when the other sites have been included. The Spirit of Anniston is behind the trail development.
We also walked by this mural while trying to find the bus murals. I thought it flowed well with the vibe, and also snapped a shot of it. Visiting the murals was a stirring experience. It had a lot of power to read through in person. I appreciated the city preserving these sites in memory of what happened here. The trail is a short walk, and it’s easy to park near the sites as well. There is another spot on the trail that I didn’t grab photos at. I also didn’t know it was one the trail. I assume it was the spot where the bus erupted in flames outside the city. I believe it is marked with a marker.
This area isn’t far from other stops we made near Alabama’s highest peak, Cheaha Mountain, and a scenic waterfall, Cheaha Falls. There are also plenty of places to eat and shop nearby, and the Anniston Museum of Natural History.
An Innovative Pursuit 