The South: Crisis in Civil Rights

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Aboard the bus, Freedom Rider Jim Lawson held a workshop on tactics for the riot that might come: "If we get knocked down, I think the best bet is to stand where we are if we can—or kneel where we are." But the only man in Alabama who lifted a finger at the Freedom Riders was a farmer, who thumbed his nose. At a rest stop, while Guardsmen glared at empty fields, Lawson disavowed the armed guard: "We appreciate the Government's concern, but protection does not solve the problem of segregation."

Polite Police. At the Mississippi line a similar escort, but with fixed bayonets, picked up the caravan for the trip to Jackson. Someone hurled a rock at the bus, but most of the spectators just stared, took pictures, or waved derisively.

At the Jackson terminal the crowds were hanging out of the windows of nearby buildings. "Get your teams ready," said Lawson. In pairs, the Freedom Riders walked into the "white" waiting room. A Jackson policeman politely asked two Negro girls to move on, and when they refused, arrested them for causing a disturbance. In similar fashion the remaining Freedom Riders—one white and eleven black—were arrested, including eight who actually entered the white rest room before being led away.

Several hours later, the second contingent of Freedom Riders, including CORE National Director James Farmer, planted themselves in the waiting room. "You all have to move," said a police captain. No one stirred. "You all going to move?" asked the captain. "No," came the reply. "You all are under arrest," said the captain.

Spreading Action. Back in Washington Bobby Kennedy issued a statement outlining the Government's position of impartial enforcement of the law. Later in the day Kennedy publicly requested a "cooling-off period." But the very next morning Coffin, three other whites and three Negroes defiantly sat down at the Montgomery Trailways bus terminal and were arrested for breach of the peace.

As the Freedom Riders were taken to Alabama and Mississippi jails, others headed south to take up the crusade. Action was spreading fast on other fronts in John Patterson's home state. Birmingham businessmen, who had been trying to attract outside industry to their fading city, sent Patterson a sharp wire complaining that the riots had torpedoed their campaign. The Justice Department brought suit against four local Alabama police officials, including Birmingham's Commissioner Eugene ("Bull") Connor, to enjoin them from interfering with interstate bus traffic. Justice's charges: the cops had not only failed to respond quickly to the riots but had actually withdrawn from some trouble spots to give the mobs a free hand.

Declared the Montgomery Advertiser—one of many Southern papers roasting the Governor: "Patterson is not the exclusive author of Montgomery's troubles by any means, but he is the chief author because his is the supreme responsibility as chief guardian against disorder."