The Freedom Riders were approximately 400 black and white Americans who (at great personal risk) traveled on buses through the Deep South in violation of Jim Crow segregation laws, for six months starting May 4, 1961. Along the way, they were met with violence and hatred. Eventually the country woke up to the injustice of these laws. On September 22, 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued a federal order to end segregation in bus and train stations.
