[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 125, 112th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
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

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Freedom Riders and all those who struggled for equal rights during the
civil rights movement.
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.
BARACK OBAMA