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103-529: Oretha Castle Haley (July 22, 1939 – October 10, 1987) was an American civil rights activist in New Orleans where she challenged the segregation of facilities and promoted voter registration. She came from a working-class background, yet was able to enroll in the Southern University of New Orleans , SUNO, then a center of student activism. She joined the protest marches and went on to become

206-506: A bill of rights or similar document. They are also defined in international human rights instruments , such as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . Civil and political rights need not be codified to be protected. However, most democracies worldwide do have formal written guarantees of civil and political rights. Civil rights are considered to be natural rights . Thomas Jefferson wrote in his A Summary View of

309-606: A Freedom Ride in solidarity with Robert F. Williams . Williams was an extremely militant and controversial NAACP chapter president for Monroe , North Carolina. After making the public statement that he would "meet violence with violence," (since the federal government would not protect his community from racial attacks) he had been suspended by the NAACP national board over the objections of Williams' local membership. Williams continued his work against segregation however, but now had massive opposition in both black and white communities. He

412-551: A bus to Birmingham, where they were arrested by Bull Connor and jailed. The students kept their spirits up in jail by singing freedom songs . Out of frustration, Connor drove them back up to the Tennessee line and dropped them off, saying, "I just couldn't stand their singing." They immediately returned to Birmingham. In answer to SNCC's call, Freedom Riders from across the Eastern US joined John Lewis and Hank Thomas ,

515-736: A clear message to southern whites that desegregation of other institutions was likely to happen soon. The Birmingham, Alabama , Police Commissioner, Bull Connor , together with Police Sergeant Tom Cook (an avid Ku Klux Klan supporter), organized violence against the Freedom Riders with local Klan chapters. The pair made plans to bring the Ride to an end in Alabama. They assured Gary Thomas Rowe , an FBI informer and member of Eastview Klavern #13 (the most violent Klan group in Alabama), that

618-833: A deep freeze." The Soviet Union criticized the United States for its racism and the attacks on the Riders. Nonetheless, international outrage about the widely covered events and racial violence created pressure on American political leaders. On May 29, 1961, Attorney General Kennedy sent a petition to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) asking it to comply with the bus-desegregation ruling it had issued in November 1955, in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company . That ruling had explicitly repudiated

721-464: A demonstration at Police Headquarters. Oretha Castle was one of fifteen arrested. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was delegated the task of solving the problem. He petitioned and pressured the Interstate Commerce Commission , ICC, and finally on November 1, the "whites only" signs were removed. The success of the Freedom Rides raised the profile and bolstered the reputation of CORE. Toward

824-563: A dormitory. Diane Nash , a Nashville college student who was a leader of the Nashville Student Movement and SNCC , believed that if Southern violence were allowed to halt the Freedom Rides the movement would be set back years. She pushed to find replacements to resume the rides. On May 17, a new set of riders, 10 students from Nashville who were active in the Nashville Student Movement, took

927-593: A major role in the success of the Civil Rights Movement. On September 17, 1960, Castle and three of her fellow student-protesters were arrested for sitting in at the counter of McCrory's, a Canal Street five-and-dime store in New Orleans. These protests were based on how stores in Central City "wouldn't hire black sales clerks or cashiers, in spite of the fact that the majority of customers in

1030-477: A pattern followed by subsequent Freedom Rides, most of which traveled to Jackson, where the Riders were arrested and jailed. Their strategy became one of trying to fill the jails. Once the Jackson and Hinds County jails were filled to overflowing, the state transferred the Freedom Riders to the infamous Mississippi State Penitentiary (known as Parchman Farm). Abusive treatment there included placement of Riders in

1133-467: A photo later of Jim Zwerg in the hospital, showing how he was beaten and bruised. Seigenthaler, a Justice Department official, was beaten and left unconscious lying in the street. Ambulances refused to take the wounded to the hospital. Local black residents rescued them, and a number of the Freedom Riders were hospitalized. On the following night, Sunday, May 21, more than 1,500 people packed into Reverend Ralph Abernathy 's First Baptist Church to honor

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1236-570: A prominent activist in the Civil Rights Movement . The 1954 US Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education , undermined the legal foundation of separate-but-equal racial segregation. The landmark court decision emboldened the cause for civil rights. The 1955 murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi, and the subsequent miscarriage of justice drew national attention to the brutal and unfair treatment of African Americans in

1339-485: A prominent role in coordinating the Freedom Rides, was among the first to be arrested in Jackson. While in Jackson, Freedom Riders received support from local grassroots civil rights organization Womanpower Unlimited, which raised money and collected toiletries, soap, candy and magazines for the imprisoned protesters. Upon Freedom Riders' release, Womanpower members would provide places for them to bathe while offering them clothes and food. Founded by Clarie Collins Harvey ,

1442-538: A role. Implied or unenumerated rights are rights that courts may find to exist even though not expressly guaranteed by written law or custom; one example is the right to privacy in the United States , and the Ninth Amendment explicitly shows that other rights are also protected. The United States Declaration of Independence states that people have unalienable rights including "Life, Liberty, and

1545-507: A waiting mob as local police stood by. Oretha Castle's home served as the New Orleans headquarters for the Freedom Riders . With help from Oretha's mother Virgie and sister Doris, their home housed and fed hundreds of Freedom Riders coming and going throughout the summer. New Orleans CORE sponsored several Freedom Rides through Louisiana and Mississippi . When two Freedom Riders were beaten in New Orleans in early August, CORE staged

1648-410: Is America's union that represent the working-class people nationwide. Freedom Riders This is an accepted version of this page CORE members SNCC and Nashville Student Movement members Governors City of Birmingham Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge

1751-519: Is a translation of Latin jus civis (right of the citizen). Roman citizens could be either free ( libertas ) or servile ( servitus ), but they all had rights in law. After the Edict of Milan in 313, these rights included the freedom of religion; however, in 380, the Edict of Thessalonica required all subjects of the Roman Empire to profess Nicene Christianity. Roman legal doctrine was lost during

1854-510: Is a well-known non-profit organization that helps to preserve freedom of speech and works to change policy. Another organization is the NAACP , founded in 1909, which focuses on protecting the civil rights of minorities. The NRA is a civil rights group founded in 1871 that primarily focuses on protecting the right to bear arms. These organizations serve a variety of causes, one being the AFL–CIO , which

1957-638: Is still active in New York. Castle returned to New Orleans in 1966 and re-enrolled at SUNO to complete her degree. Her grass-roots organizational experience qualified her to take the lead in several organizations sponsored by the Federal War on Poverty . She led a successful campaign to desegregate public playgrounds. In 1971, she led the election campaign of Dorothy Mae Taylor , who became the first African-American woman state legislator in Louisiana. In

2060-402: Is that if individuals have fewer political rights than are they more likely to commit political violence such as in countries where individual rights are highly restricted. That is why it is important for countries to protect the political rights of all citizens including minority groups. This extends to racial, ethnic, tribal, and religious groups. By granting them the same rights it helps reduce

2163-546: The English Bill of Rights in 1689. It was one of the influences drawn on by George Mason and James Madison when drafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776. The Virginia declaration heavily influenced the U.S. Bill of Rights (1789). The removal by legislation of a civil right constitutes a "civil disability". In early 19th century Britain, the phrase "civil rights" most commonly referred to

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2266-905: The Greyhound Terminal ) and Trailways buses. Their plan was to ride through Virginia , the Carolinas, Georgia , Alabama , and Mississippi , ending in New Orleans, Louisiana , where a civil rights rally was planned. Many of the Riders were sponsored by CORE and SNCC with 75% of the Riders between 18 and 30 years old. A diverse group of volunteers came from 39 states, and were from different economic classes and racial backgrounds. Most were college students and received training in nonviolent tactics. The Freedom Riders' tactics for their journey were to have at least one interracial pair sitting in adjoining seats, and at least one black rider sitting up front, where seats under segregation had been reserved for white customers by local custom throughout

2369-467: The US Supreme Court . The USSC, headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren , overturned the ruling in an eight to one decision on May 20, 1963. In the opinion to the court Justice Warren indicated that due to the announcements made by public officials, restaurant owners had felt compelled to maintain segregated facilities even if it was not their will or official law. As a result, the court overturned

2472-596: The right to a fair trial , (in some countries) the right to keep and bear arms , freedom of religion , freedom from discrimination , and voting rights . They were pioneered in the seventeenth and eighteenth-century during the Age of Enlightenment . Political theories associated with the English, American, and French revolutions were codified in the English Bill of Rights in 1689 (a restatement of Rights of Englishmen , some dating back to Magna Carta in 1215) and more fully in

2575-427: The right to assemble , the right to petition , the right of self-defense , and the right to vote . These rights also must follow the legal norm as in they must have the force of law and fit into the system of administrative justice. A key feature in modern society is that the more a state can guarantee political rights of citizens the better the states relations are with its citizens. Civil and political rights form

2678-704: The 1960s. After the boycotts many businesses did close, a great deal of commercial activity ceased and was in poor condition for the '60s, '70s, and '80s. In 1989 the city used the naming of the street as a way to "revitalize the area". In 2015, an exhibit called 'Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard: Past, Present and Future' opened, aiming to explore the "rich history and gentrification" of the area. In 2017 her namesake street won "The Great American Main Street Award". Civil rights activist Civil rights generally include ensuring peoples' physical and mental integrity, life , and safety , protection from discrimination ,

2781-558: The 1980s, she served as deputy administrator of Charity Hospital where she instituted several reforms. While there, she was central in creating the Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation. Oretha remained married to Richard Haley until her death, caused by cancer, in 1987 at the age of 48. In 1989, the first eight blocks of Dryades Street in Central City, New Orleans, was renamed Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard. The Central City area and Dryades Street in particular were long

2884-618: The Attorney General's office, Alabama Governor John Patterson reluctantly promised to protect the bus from KKK mobs and snipers on the road between Birmingham and Montgomery. On the morning of May 20, the Freedom Ride resumed, with the bus carrying the riders traveling toward Montgomery at 90 miles an hour, protected by a contingent of the Alabama State Highway Patrol . The Highway Patrol abandoned

2987-592: The Black Panther party emerged. Stokely Carmichael (later known as Kwame Ture) and Charles V. Hamilton wrote the book, Black Power: The Politics of Liberation (1967), encouraging self-determination for black communities. CORE fractured in a dispute over criticizing the Viet Nam War , and many long-time leaders left the organization. The original members of the New Orleans chapter of CORE all quit by 1965, including Oretha Castle. CORE, led by Roy Innis ,

3090-626: The Consumers League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) took no interest. The CLGNO and NAACP were involved in sensitive litigations and negotiations and shunned the publicity. In the summer of 1960, Oretha Castle, Rudy Lombard and Jerome Smith pioneered their own organization and sought sponsorship from a national organization. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference , SCLC,

3193-566: The Freedom Riders. Among the speakers were Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. , who had led the 1955–1956 Montgomery bus boycott , Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth , and James Farmer . Outside, a mob of more than 3,000 white people attacked the black attendees, with a handful of the United States Marshals Service protecting the church from assault and fire bombs. With city and state police making no effort to restore order,

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3296-485: The Freedom Rides, in plural, was just the beginning. The Alabama attacks, coupled with the Mississippi arrests, inspired multiple small bands of civil rights supporters from all over the continental United States to head southward too."explains Arsenault. The riders in 1961 successfully completed their journey through Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. However, they encountered violent and horrific situations in Alabama. A white segregationist mob attacked and burned one of

3399-914: The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789 and the United States Bill of Rights in 1791. They were enshrined at the global level and given status in international law first by Articles 3 to 21 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and later in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . In Europe, they were enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights in 1953. There are current organizations that exist to protect people's civil and political rights in case they are infringed upon. The ACLU , founded in 1920,

3502-884: The Journey of Reconciliation was intended to test an earlier Supreme Court ruling that banned racial discrimination in interstate travel. Rustin, Igal Roodenko , Joe Felmet and Andrew Johnnson, were arrested and sentenced to serve on a chain gang in North Carolina for violating local Jim Crow laws regarding segregated seating on public transportation. The first Freedom Ride began on May 4, 1961. Led by CORE Director James Farmer , 13 young riders (seven black, six white, including but not limited to John Lewis (21), Genevieve Hughes (28), Mae Frances Moultrie, Joseph Perkins, Charles Person (18), Ivor Moore, William E. Harbour (19), Joan Trumpauer Mullholland (19), and Ed Blankenheim ), left Washington, DC, on Greyhound (from

3605-879: The Maximum Security Unit ( Death Row ), issuance of only underwear, no exercise, and no mail privileges. When the Freedom Riders refused to stop singing freedom songs, prison officials took away their mattresses, sheets, and toothbrushes. More Freedom Riders arrived from across the country, and at one time, more than 300 were held in Parchman Farm. Riders arrested in Jackson included Stokeley Carmichael (19), Catherine Burks (21), Gloria Bouknight (20), Luvahgn Brown (16), Margaret Leonard (19), Helen O'Neal (20), Hank Thomas (20), Carol Silver (22), Hezekiah Watkins (13), Peter Stoner (22), Byron Baer (31), and LeRoy Glenn Wright (19) in addition to many more Nashville Student Movement leader James Lawson , who played

3708-604: The Mayor and Superintendent of the police had been made. Those charged were sentenced to a $ 350 fine and 60 days in prison, or if the fine could not be paid 120 days in prison. This case first went to Louisiana State Trial Court. The case was appealed by CORE attorneys to the Louisiana State Supreme Court, which upheld the conservative decision of the Trial Court. The case was appealed and brought to

3811-520: The Middle Ages, but claims of universal rights could still be made based on Christian doctrine. According to the leaders of Kett's Rebellion (1549), "all bond men may be made free, for God made all free with his precious blood-shedding." In the 17th century, English common law judge Sir Edward Coke revived the idea of rights based on citizenship by arguing that Englishmen had historically enjoyed such rights . The Parliament of England adopted

3914-483: The Riders from mob violence. In return, the federal government would not intervene to stop local police from arresting Freedom Riders for violating segregation ordinances when the buses arrived at the depots. On Wednesday morning, May 24, Freedom Riders boarded buses for the journey to Jackson, Mississippi . Surrounded by Highway Patrol and the National Guard, the buses arrived in Jackson without incident, but

4017-410: The Riders in order to get them to Montgomery, Alabama , safely. However, radio reports told of a mob awaiting the riders at the bus terminal, as well as on the route to Montgomery. The Greyhound clerks told the Riders that their drivers were refusing to drive any Freedom Riders anywhere. Recognizing that their efforts had already called national attention to the civil rights cause and wanting to get to

4120-502: The Rights of British America that "a free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate ." The question of to whom civil and political rights apply is a subject of controversy. Although in many countries citizens are considered to have greater protections against infringement of rights than non-citizens, civil and political rights are generally considered to be universal rights that apply to all persons . One thing to mention

4223-612: The South, most of them converging on Jackson, where every Rider was arrested, more than 300 in total. An unknown number were arrested in other Southern towns. It is estimated that almost 450 people participated in one or more Freedom Rides. About 75% were male, and the same percentage were under the age of 30, with about equal participation from black and white citizens. During the summer of 1961, Freedom Riders also campaigned against other forms of racial discrimination . They sat together in segregated restaurants, lunch counters and hotels. This

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4326-454: The South, and boycotts of retail establishments that maintained segregated facilities. The Supreme Court's decision in Boynton supported the right of interstate travelers to disregard local segregation ordinances . Southern local and state police considered the actions of the Freedom Riders to be criminal and arrested them in some locations. In some localities, such as Birmingham, Alabama ,

4429-528: The South. The Freedom Riders challenged this status quo by riding interstate buses in the South in mixed racial groups to challenge local laws or customs that enforced segregation in seating. The Freedom Rides, and the violent reactions they provoked, bolstered the credibility of the American Civil Rights Movement . They called national attention to the disregard for the federal law and the local violence used to enforce segregation in

4532-679: The South. In late 1955, the arrest of Rosa Parks led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott . The boycott lasted almost a year and its success launched the career of Martin Luther King and demonstrated the power of non-violent political action. The first protest marches Oretha Castle participated in were sponsored by the Consumers League of Greater New Orleans (CLGNO). When Castle and several fellow protesters sought support to stage sit-ins at segregated lunch counters, both

4635-726: The South. The rest of the team would sit scattered throughout the rest of the bus. One rider would abide by the South's segregation rules in order to avoid arrest and to contact CORE and arrange bail for those who were arrested. Only minor trouble was encountered in Virginia and North Carolina, but John Lewis was attacked in Rock Hill , South Carolina . More than 300 Riders were arrested in Charlotte , North Carolina; Winnsboro , South Carolina; and Jackson , Mississippi. The Freedom Rides were mostly focused on events that occurred during

4738-611: The Trial Court and Louisiana State Supreme Court decisions. Furthermore, the court cited violations to the 14th amendment as grounds for their decision. In 1961, CORE pioneered the Freedom Rides , a novel method of non-violent protest against segregation in interstate transportation. SNCC played a major role. Trained and committed volunteers boarded Greyhound and Trailways buses in Washington DC and other northern cities, and headed south. At various stops, they occupied

4841-652: The United States gathered steam by 1848 with such documents as the Declaration of Sentiment. Consciously modeled after the Declaration of Independence , the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments became the founding document of the American women's movement, and it was adopted at the Seneca Falls Convention, July 19 and 20, 1848. Worldwide, several political movements for equality before

4944-563: The United States inspired by Gandhi and other writers. For almost ten years, non-violent methods led to the many triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement culminating with the March from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965. In August, the Watts Rebellion initiated three consecutive summers of urban rebellions. Many activists questioned their faith in non-violence, including Oretha Castle. Disenchanted by Selma and other unsuccessful strategies,

5047-493: The airport, they decided to eat at the Savarin restaurant that was marked "For Whites Only". The owners decided to close rather than serve the mixed group of Freedom Riders. Although the restaurant was privately owned, it was leased from the county government. Canceling their plane reservations, the Riders decided to wait until the restaurant re-opened so they could be served. They waited until 11:00 pm that night and returned

5150-490: The approval of local police. On August 27, James Forman – SNCC's Executive Secretary – was struck unconscious with the butt of a rifle and taken to jail with numerous other demonstrators. Police and white supremacists roamed the town shooting at black civilians, who returned the gunfire. Robert F. Williams fortified the black neighborhood against attack and in the process briefly detained a white couple who had gotten lost there. The police accused Williams of kidnapping and called in

5253-435: The area include Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld , and Jean Edward Smith . First-generation rights, often called "blue" rights, deal essentially with liberty and participation in political life. They are fundamentally civil and political in nature, as well as strongly individualistic : They serve negatively to protect the individual from excesses of the state. First-generation rights include, among other things, freedom of speech ,

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5356-420: The bathroom of his choice is a well known case in these civil right fights. Another issue in civil rights has been the issue with police brutality in certain communities especially minority communities. This has been seen as another way for minority groups to be oppressed and their rights infringed upon. Outrage has also been a massive result of incidents caught on tape of police abusing and in some cases causing

5459-452: The black drivers and asked them to disperse, to prevent more violence. King and his escorts formally made their way back inside the church, unmolested. Lafayette also was interviewed by the BBC in 2011 and told about these events in an episode broadcast on the radio on August 31, 2011, in commemoration of the Freedom Rides. The Alabama National Guard finally arrived in the early morning to disperse

5562-571: The bus and riders at the Montgomery city limits. At the Montgomery Greyhound station on South Court Street, a white mob awaited. They beat the Freedom Riders with baseball bats and iron pipes. The local police allowed the beatings to go on uninterrupted. Again, white Freedom Riders were singled out for particularly brutal beatings. Reporters and news photographers were attacked first and their cameras destroyed, but one reporter took

5665-547: The bus. The mob beat the riders after they got out. Warning shots which were fired into the air by highway patrolmen were the only thing which prevented the riders from being lynched . The roadside site in Anniston and the downtown Greyhound station were preserved as part of the Freedom Riders National Monument in 2017. Some injured riders were taken to Anniston Memorial Hospital. That night,

5768-466: The center of a culturally diverse business center in New Orleans. During the turn into the 20th century the area hosted many Jewish, Italian, African-American and German businesses. The area also served black musicians, and black baseball players during the Jim Crow era. Eventually Dryades Street became a focal point for the civil rights movement when Castle Haley and her contemporaries boycotted during

5871-592: The civil rights leaders appealed to the President for protection. President Kennedy threatened to intervene with federal troops if the governor would not protect the people. Governor Patterson forestalled that by finally ordering the Alabama National Guard to disperse the mob, and the Guard reached the church in the early morning. In a commemorative Op-Ed piece in 2011, Bernard Lafayette remembered

5974-589: The concept of " separate but equal " in the realm of interstate bus travel. Chaired by South Carolina Democrat J. Monroe Johnson, the ICC had failed to implement its own ruling. CORE, SNCC, and the SCLC rejected any "cooling off period". They formed a Freedom Riders Coordinating Committee to keep the Rides rolling through June, July, August, and September. During those months, more than 60 different Freedom Rides criss-crossed

6077-645: The convictions were affirmed in the Florida Circuit Court of the Second Judicial District. The convictions were appealed to the US Supreme Court in 1963, which refused to hear the case based on jurisdictional reasons. In 1964, the Tallahassee 10 protesters returned to the city to serve brief jail sentences. In early August, SNCC staff members James Forman and Paul Brooks, with the support of Ella Baker , began planning

6180-463: The deaths of people from minority groups such as African Americans. That is why to address the issue has been accountability to police engaging in such conduct as a way to deter other officers from committing similar actions. T. H. Marshall notes that civil rights were among the first to be recognized and codified, followed later by political rights and still later by social rights. In many countries, they are constitutional rights and are included in

6283-558: The desegregation of the municipal cafeteria. The 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibited segregation in public accommodations, so the protest marches came to an end. The next battle was voter registration. CORE joined a coalition of civil rights organizations that combined their resources for the Freedom Summer project, what became known as Freedom Summer . In the spring of 1964, Castle relinquished her presidency and moved upstate to Ouchita Parish to act as field secretary. In November, she

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6386-454: The end of 1961 Rudy Lombard departed, and Oretha Castle was appointed president of the local chapter of CORE. A prominent fellow activist characterized her as "the guiding force . . . the backbone . . . a woman of extraordinary capabilities." With its new notoriety, the New Orleans chapter of CORE attracted a growing membership. James Farmer had founded CORE to be an interracial organization. In 1962, Castle and her African American cohorts began to

6489-415: The first bus was unable to reach Birmingham as it was attacked by a group of 200 men. The attackers hurled a firebomb through a rear window of the bus, and the Freedom Riders were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were mostly ignored until being instructed to leave. The bus was left completely destroyed, and this became the first memorable image of the Freedom Ride. When the bus arrived in Birmingham, it

6592-412: The following day. During this time, hostile crowds gathered, threatening violence. On June 16, 1961, the Freedom Riders were arrested in Tallahassee for unlawful assembly. That arrest and subsequent trial became known as Dresner v. City of Tallahassee, named for Israel S. Dresner , a rabbi among the group arrested. The Riders were convicted of unlawful assembly by the Municipal Court of Tallahassee, and

6695-449: The government intervene to protect individuals from infringement on their rights by other individuals , or from corporations —e.g., in what way should employment discrimination in the private sector be dealt with? Political theory deals with civil and political rights. Robert Nozick and John Rawls expressed competing visions in Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia and Rawls' A Theory of Justice . Other influential authors in

6798-534: The group was considered instrumental in the success of the Freedom Riders. Freedom Rider Joan Trumpauer Mulholland said the Womanpower members "were like angels supplying us with just little simple necessities." The Kennedys called for a "cooling off period" and condemned the Rides as unpatriotic because they embarrassed the nation on the world stage at the height of the Cold War . James Farmer , head of CORE, responded to Kennedy saying, "We have been cooling off for 350 years, and if we cooled off any more, we'd be in

6901-440: The hospital, protecting the Freedom Riders from the mob. When the Trailways bus reached Anniston and pulled in at the terminal an hour after the Greyhound bus was burned, it was boarded by eight Klansmen. They beat the Freedom Riders and left them semi-conscious in the back of the bus. On Sunday morning, May 14, the Freedom Riders embarked on a journey from Atlanta in two buses that also accommodated regular passengers. However,

7004-452: The hospitalized Freedom Riders, most of whom had been refused care, were removed from the hospital at 2 am, because the staff feared the mob outside the hospital. The local civil rights leader Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth organized several cars of black citizens to rescue the injured Freedom Riders in defiance of the white supremacists. The black people were under the leadership of Colonel Stone Johnson and were openly armed as they arrived at

7107-501: The issue of such legal discrimination against Catholics. In the House of Commons , support for civil rights was divided, with many politicians agreeing with the existing civil disabilities of Catholics. The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829 restored their civil rights. In the United States, the term civil rights has been associated with the civil rights movement (1954–1968), which fought against racism. The movement also fought segregation and Jim Crow laws and this fight took place in

7210-424: The law occurred between approximately 1950 and 1980. These movements had a legal and constitutional aspect, and resulted in much law-making at both national and international levels. They also had an activist side, particularly in situations where violations of rights were widespread. Movements with the proclaimed aim of securing observance of civil and political rights included: Most civil rights movements relied on

7313-443: The members it lost. Haley remained with the organization for the next five years. Castle and Haley married in 1967, and had two sons, in addition to the two sons Oretha was already raising. In 1963 and 1964, nightly marches targeting segregated stores, hotels, theaters and an amusement park continued. The Schwegmann's grocery store chain closed its lunch counters in response to a CORE lawsuit. A Freedom March on city hall resulted in

7416-474: The mob and safely escorted all the people from the church. The next day, Monday, May 22, more Freedom Riders arrived in Montgomery to continue the rides through the South and replace the wounded riders still in the hospital. Behind the scenes, the Kennedy administration arranged a deal with the governors of Alabama and Mississippi, where the governors agreed that state police and the National Guard would protect

7519-448: The mob breaking windows of the church with rocks and setting off tear gas canisters. He recounted heroic action by King. After learning that black taxi drivers were arming and forming a group to rescue the people inside, he worried that more violence would result. He selected ten volunteers, who promised non-violence, to escort him through the white mob, which parted to let King and his escorts pass as they marched two by two. King went out to

7622-521: The mob would have fifteen minutes to attack the Freedom Riders without any arrests being made. The plan was to allow an initial assault in Anniston with a final assault taking place in Birmingham. On Sunday, May 14, 1961, Mother's Day, in Anniston, Alabama , a mob of Klansmen , some still in church attire, attacked the first of the two Greyhound buses. The driver tried to leave the station, but he

7725-544: The non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions Morgan v. Virginia (1946) and Boynton v. Virginia (1960), which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. The Southern states had ignored the rulings and the federal government did nothing to enforce them. The first Freedom Ride left Washington, D.C. , on May 4, 1961, and was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on May 17. Boynton outlawed racial segregation in

7828-463: The original and main part of international human rights . They comprise the first portion of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (with economic, social, and cultural rights comprising the second portion). The theory of three generations of human rights considers this group of rights to be "first-generation rights", and the theory of negative and positive rights considers them to be generally negative rights . The phrase "civil rights"

7931-459: The police cooperated with Ku Klux Klan chapters and other white people opposing the actions, and allowed mobs to attack the riders. The Freedom Riders were inspired by the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation , led by Bayard Rustin and George Houser and co-sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the then-fledgling Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Like the Freedom Rides of 1961,

8034-653: The pursuit of Happiness". It is considered by some that the sole purpose of government is the protection of life, liberty , and property. Some thinkers have argued that the concepts of self-ownership and cognitive liberty affirm rights to choose the food one eats, the medicine one takes , and the habit one indulges . Civil rights guarantee equal protection under the law. When civil and political rights are not guaranteed to all as part of equal protection of laws , or when such guarantees exist on paper but are not respected in practice, opposition, legal action and even social unrest may ensue. Civil rights movements in

8137-409: The question the participation of whites in their organization. Whites were assuming leadership roles in an organization dedicated to empowering blacks. Castle suspended the white members and came into conflict with the national organization. The national office dispatched Richard Haley to resolve the issue. The suspensions were declared invalid, whites slowly rejoined, yet the chapter never fully regained

8240-448: The rally in New Orleans, the Riders decided to abandon the rest of the bus ride and fly directly to New Orleans from Birmingham. When they first boarded the plane, all passengers had to exit because of a bomb threat. Upon arriving in New Orleans, local tensions prevented normal accommodations—after which Norman C. Francis , president of Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA), decided to house them on campus in secret at St Michael's Hall,

8343-511: The restaurants and waiting rooms in terminals serving buses that crossed state lines. Five years prior to the Boynton ruling, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had issued a ruling in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company (1955) that had explicitly denounced the Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) doctrine of separate but equal in interstate bus travel. The ICC failed to enforce its ruling, and Jim Crow travel laws remained in force throughout

8446-485: The ride, had participated in CORE'S 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, where he was surprised by the level of tolerance towards integration among drivers and passengers. However, fourteen years later, he faced a hostile group of white men in sports shirts, who carried lead pipes hidden in paper bags. Peck challenged them, declaring that they would have to kill him before hurting his fellow Freedom Riders. Despite his brave words, he

8549-819: The riders were immediately arrested when they tried to use the white-only facilities at the Tri-State Trailways depot. The third bus arrived at the Jackson Greyhound station early on May 28, and its Freedom Riders were arrested. In Montgomery, the next round of Freedom Riders, including the Yale University chaplain William Sloane Coffin , Gaylord Brewster Noyce, and southern ministers Shuttlesworth, Abernathy, Wyatt Tee Walker , and others were similarly arrested for violating local segregation ordinances. This established

8652-421: The right to privacy , the freedom of thought , speech , religion , press , assembly , and movement . Political rights include natural justice (procedural fairness) in law , such as the rights of the accused , including the right to a fair trial ; due process ; the right to seek redress or a legal remedy ; and rights of participation in civil society and politics such as freedom of association ,

8755-472: The risk of political violence breaking out. According to political scientist Salvador Santino F. Regilme Jr., analyzing the causes of and lack of protection from human rights abuses in the Global South should be focusing on the interactions of domestic and international factors—an important perspective that has usually been systematically neglected in the social science literature. Custom also plays

8858-405: The scene. When reports of the bus burning and beatings reached the U.S. Attorney General , Robert F. Kennedy , he urged restraint on the part of Freedom Riders and sent an assistant, John Seigenthaler , to Alabama to try to calm the situation. Despite the violence suffered and the threat of more to come, the Freedom Riders intended to continue their journey. Kennedy had arranged an escort for

8961-440: The shopping district were black". Oretha Castle, Cecil Carter, Sydney Goldfinch and Rudy Lombard were charged with criminal mischief, "which makes it a crime to refuse to leave a place of business after being ordered to do so by the person in charge of the premises". There were no laws particularly allowing racial segregation in businesses in the town, however public announcements explaining a zero tolerance on sit-in demonstrations by

9064-654: The southern United States. Police arrested riders for trespassing , unlawful assembly , violating state and local Jim Crow laws , and other alleged offenses, but often they first let white mobs attack them without intervention. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sponsored most of the subsequent Freedom Rides, but some were also organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The Freedom Rides, beginning in 1961, followed dramatic sit-ins against segregated lunch counters conducted by students and youth throughout

9167-534: The spring and summer of 1961. However, the idea of an interracial bus ride through the South, at a time when racial segregation was mandated in public transportation, originated in 1947. Bayard Rustin and George Houser, who were part of a civil rights organization called the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), came up with a plan to test whether southern long-distance buses were following a 1946 Supreme Court ruling that prohibited segregation on interstate travel. "Yet

9270-612: The state militia and FBI to arrest him, in spite of the couple being quickly released. Certain he would be lynched, Williams fled and eventually found refuge in Cuba . Movement lawyers, eager to disengage from the situation, successfully urged the Freedom Riders not to practice the normal "jail-no bail" strategy in Monroe. Local officials, also apparently eager to de-escalate, found demonstrators guilty but immediately suspended their sentences. One Freedom Rider however, John Lowry, went on trial for

9373-761: The streets, in public places, in government, and in the courts including the Supreme Court. The civil rights movement was also not the only movement fighting for civil rights as The Black Panthers were also a group focused on fighting racism and Jim Crow. Other things that civil rights have been associated with are not just race but also rights of Transgender and other LGBTQ individuals. These have been fights over sexuality instead of race and focused around whether these individuals may access certain spaces like bathrooms according to their sexual identity or biological sex. Gavin Grimm's fight in Virginia over whether he could use

9476-560: The technique of civil resistance , using nonviolent methods to achieve their aims. In some countries, struggles for civil rights were accompanied, or followed, by civil unrest and even armed rebellion. While civil rights movements over the last sixty years have resulted in an extension of civil and political rights, the process was long and tenuous in many countries, and many of these movements did not achieve or fully achieve their objectives. Questions about civil and political rights have frequently emerged. For example, to what extent should

9579-702: The two buses they were traveling in outside Anniston. The second group of riders faced violence from Ku Klux Klansmen in Birmingham, while the city police deliberately held back. The Freedom Rides had two important outcomes. Firstly, due to the pressure from Robert Kennedy's Justice Department, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which had regulatory power over interstate buses and terminals, declared an end to racial segregation in all waiting rooms and lunch counters, effective from November 1, 1961. Although not everyone immediately followed this rule, Arsenault points out that this directive sent

9682-491: The two young SNCC members of the original Ride, who had remained in Birmingham. On May 19, they attempted to resume the ride, but, terrified by the howling mob surrounding the bus depot, the drivers refused. Harassed and besieged by the mob, the riders waited all night for a bus. Under intense public pressure from the Kennedy administration , Greyhound was forced to provide a driver. After direct intervention by Byron White of

9785-465: The whites-only waiting rooms to draw attention to the segregated facilities. The Freedom Rides were scheduled to finish in New Orleans. The first Freedom Riders drew national attention in mid-May. Two buses left from Atlanta, GA heading for Birmingham, AL . The first bus was commandeered by an angry mob in Anniston, AL . The passengers were beaten and the bus was set ablaze. The second group of Freedom Riders made it to Birmingham where they were beaten by

9888-469: The wounds in his head. Peck was taken to Carraway Methodist Medical Center , which refused to treat him; he was later treated at Jefferson Hillman Hospital . On the afternoon of that same Sunday, the second bus arrived at Birmingham's Trailways station, with James Peck as the captain of this leg. Peck, a 46-year-old descendant of the Peck & Peck New York retail family and one of the two Harvard alums on

9991-413: Was also facing repeated attempts on his life because of it. Some SNCC staff members sympathized with the idea of armed self-defense, although many on the ride to Monroe saw this as an opportunity to prove the superiority of Gandhian nonviolence over the use of force. Forman was among those who were still supportive of Williams. The Freedom Riders in Monroe were brutally attacked by white supremacists with

10094-457: Was attacked and severely beaten by five men in an alley. The attackers used a Coke bottle, which was a typical weapon for southern vigilantes. Peck lost consciousness within seconds and needed 53 stitches to close his exposed skull. Meanwhile, inside the station, the Klansmen violently assaulted the Freedom Riders and anyone else who tried to stop them, including a news photographer who arrived at

10197-410: Was attacked by a mob of KKK members aided and abetted by police under the orders of Commissioner Connor. As the riders exited the bus, they were beaten by the mob with baseball bats, iron pipes and bicycle chains. Among the attacking Klansmen was Gary Thomas Rowe , an FBI informant. White Freedom Riders were singled out for especially frenzied beatings; James Peck required more than 50 stitches to

10300-414: Was blocked until KKK members slashed its tires. The mob forced the crippled bus to stop several miles outside town and then threw a firebomb into it. As the bus burned, the mob held the doors shut, intending to burn the riders to death. Sources disagree, but either an exploding fuel tank or an undercover state investigator who was brandishing a revolver caused the mob to retreat, and the riders escaped

10403-548: Was especially effective when they targeted large companies, such as hotel chains. Fearing boycotts in the North, the hotels began to desegregate their businesses. In mid-June, a group of Freedom Riders had scheduled to end their ride in Tallahassee, Florida , with plans to fly home from the Tallahassee Municipal Airport . They were provided a police escort to the airport from the city's bus facilities. At

10506-765: Was not active in New Orleans. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was the first activist group dedicated to non-violence founded in 1942 and based in Chicago. The newly formed Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) rapidly grew in prominence. SNCC's powerbase became the Nashville chapter founded by Diane Nash and John Lewis . Castle and her cohorts chose to ally their local group with CORE, and developed their power base in New Orleans. SNCC and CORE both concentrated on street-level, direct-action activism, and are often compared. The NAACP, SLC, CORE and SNCC cooperated in many endeavors, and each are credited with playing

10609-457: Was promoted to field secretary for all of northern Louisiana. For more than a year, Castle applied the protest techniques she had helped to develop in Monroe , Jonesboro and Bogalusa, Louisiana . Freedom Summer accomplished its goal when the 1965 Voting Rights Act prohibited racial discrimination in voting. Bayard Rustin and James Farmer pioneered the use of non-violent civil disobedience in

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