Freedom Rides 61st Anniversary

Anniston, AL – On Saturday, May 14, 2022 the Freedom Riders National Monument will celebrate it’s 61st anniversary. Join them this Saturday, May 14th from 12:00-8:00 in Zinn Park to celebrate the 61st Anniversary of the Freedom Rides. The Anniversary Program will feature the Anniston High School Choir, participants from the 2022 Black Heritage Festival, as well as honored guests and freedom riders Ameen Tuungane and Joan Trumpauer Mulholland.

Join the local National Park Service team, from the Freedom Riders National Monument, at Zinn Park this Saturday, May 14th, as they celebrate the 61st Anniversary of the Freedom Riders!

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There will be a full slate of activities for the celebration from 12:00 PM until 8:00 PM:

• 12:00 PM -3:30 PM | Anniston Greyhound BusDepot, board the replica bus, self-guided Model City Tour

• 4:00 PM -5:00 PM | Meet Freedom Riders Joan Mulholland and Ameen Tuungane

• 5:00 PM -6:00 PM | Anniversary Program

• 6:00 PM -8:00 PM | Movie in the Park: PBS American Experience, Freedom Riders Movie

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For more information on the anniversary event, please contact Park Ranger and Education Specialist, Jessica Epperson, at: jessica_epperson@nps.gov and/or 256-499-7209

In 1961, a small interracial band of “Freedom Riders” challenged discriminatory laws requiring separation of the races in interstate travel. They were viciously attacked by white supremacists, who firebombed the bus. Images of the attack appeared in hundreds of newspapers, shocking the American public and spurring the Federal Government to issue regulations banning segregation in interstate travel.