A group of people risked their lives to achieve equality for African Americans in the South. The Freedom Riders were a group of about 13 people. Most of them were African-American, but there were always a few white-skinned people in the group. There was no defined leader for the Freedom Riders. The Freedom Riders took interstate buses to the American South. The South was considered the most segregated part of the United States. The main goal of the Freedom Riders was to desegregate and become “separate but equal.” They also decided to defy Jim Crow laws. The Freedom Riders received a little help from two court cases: Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia and Boynton v. Virginia. These court cases ruled that it was unfair to impose segregation on buses. This made it easier for the Freedom Riders. The fact that the buses were not segregated did not make it any easier for the Freedom Riders, although they were harassed, beaten, and called extremely rude and derogatory terms. The Freedom Riders took an alternative approach to protest. No violence was used by the Freedom Riders. This got me thinking about a question: wondering what the strategies of the Freedom Riders were and how effective they were in the South. Did they succeed? The Freedom Riders used strategies such as Sit INS at local bars, nonviolent protests, the Montgomery bus boycott, and lack of support from authorities. The Freedom Riders were very successful in their attempts to decimate segregation in the South. One of the strategies used by the Freedom Riders was sit-ins. Sit INS is an action defined as one or more people occupying a protest area. They simply sat at a separate bar or lunch counter. The Freedom...... middle of paper ...... used local authority police. Overall, the Freedom Rides played a major role in the success of the civil rights movement. The Freedom Riders were one of the few groups to enter and confront the segregated South. Their historic and remarkable actions are an inspiration to those living today. The civil rights movement achieved great success with the help of the Freedom Riders. It was enough to see African Americans putting their own lives in danger and white people using them as punching bags. Finally, racism still exists today and there are still the Bull Connors. God created everyone in his own image so that we are all equal. Everyone should be treated the same. It's very sad to see the Freedom Riders leave with very serious injuries but it's what they had to do. The Freedom Riders are an inspiration to everyone living today.