Freedom Riders Surrender in Hillsborough

Members of the Journey of Reconciliation in 1947. Image from Fellowship of Reconciliation

On March 21, 1949, the Freedom Riders surrendered at the Orange County Courthouse in Hillsborough and were sent to segregated chain gangs.

In 1946 the U.S. Supreme Court declared that segregation on interstate buses and trains was unconstitutional, though segregation was still widely practiced across the south. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) decided to test compliance with the court’s ruling across the South by having interracial groups of protesters travel on Greyhound and Trailways buses. This “Journey of Reconciliation,” as it was dubbed, began in April 1947, and the protesters who participated became known as the “Freedom Riders.”

The North Carolina Itinerary of the First Freedom Ride. Image from Fellowship of Reconciliation

In Chapel Hill in April 1947, four riders, including one of the organizers, Bayard Rustin, were arrested and later went to trial. In 1949, Rustin and two white protesters surrendered and were sent to segregated chain gangs. Rustin published journal entries about the experience. His writings, as well as the actions of the “Journey” riders in April 1947, in time inspired Rosa Parks’ nonviolent protest in 1955 and the Freedom Rides of 1960-1961.

Other related resources:

• Celebrate Black History! from the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources
• A Change is Gonna Come, an online exhbit from the N.C. Museum of History
• A History of African Americans in North Carolina from N.C. Historical Publications
• Images related to civil rights from the State Archives
• Resources related to black history from the State Library

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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