[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 89 (Monday, May 9, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26925-26926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11488]
[[Page 26923]]
Vol. 76
Monday,
No. 89
May 9, 2011
Part V
The President
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Proclamation 8668--50th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 89 / Monday, May 9, 2011 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 26925]]
Proclamation 8668 of May 3, 2011
50th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Fifty years ago, America was struggling to implement
the ideals of justice and equality set forth in our
founding. The Freedom Rides, organized in the spring of
1961, were an interracial, nonviolent effort to protest
the practice of segregation. Setting out from
Washington, D.C., on May 4, 1961, the Freedom Riders
sought to actualize the decision in Boynton v.
Virginia, which held that interstate passengers had a
right to be served without discrimination, and to
challenge the enforcement of local segregation laws and
practices.
The Freedom Rides, organized by the Congress of Racial
Equality (CORE), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC), and other devoted advocates, built
upon the boycotts and sit-ins that were defying Jim
Crow segregation across the South. The Freedom Riders
themselves were black and white, often students and
young people, and committed to the cause of nonviolent
resistance. Along the way, buses were attacked and men
and women were intimidated, arrested, and brutally
beaten. The publicity generated by the courageous
Freedom Riders as they faced continued violence and
complicit local police drew the attention of the
Kennedy Administration and Americans across our
country.
Through their defiant journeys, the Freedom Riders sent
a resounding message to the rest of our Nation that
desegregation was a moral imperative. The Freedom
Riders also motivated and mobilized the next generation
of civil rights leaders. The unflinching bravery and
unyielding commitment of the Freedom Riders inspired
many of those involved to become lifelong activists,
organizers, and leaders in the civil rights movement.
Today, we remember the Freedom Riders for the
sacrifices they made in pursuit of the rights we now
enjoy. They showed that people working together across
backgrounds and boundaries could hold America
accountable to our highest ideals and bend the arc of
history towards justice. They showed that young people
have the power to generate a movement for equality and
steer the course of our Nation. Because of their
efforts, and the work of those who marched and stood
against injustice, we live in a country where all
Americans have the right to dream and choose their own
destiny.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim May 2011 as the 50th
Anniversary of the Freedom Rides. I call upon all
Americans to participate in ceremonies and activities
that honor the Freedom Riders and all those who
struggled for equal rights during the civil rights
movement.
[[Page 26926]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
third day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand
eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2011-11488
Filed 5-6-11; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3195-W1-P