Freedom Riders Redux

     The Human Rights Campaign is sending a bus to tour the U.S. States that are unlikely to approve same-sex marriage willingly...like Alabama.

     It's reminiscent of the Freedom Riders bus tours that ended with thug kops and Klansman beating the civil rights demonstrators and burning the buses.

    We can only hope that the reception for this bus will be less violent.

     I've predicted that Alabama will be the last state...or may a tie between Mississippi and Alabama---to allow gay marriage, and no bus is going to change that.

     But there may be an awareness raising involved that's worth the effort. 

The Reopened Greyhound Bus Terminal

     I visited the latest Civil Rights tourist location in Montgomery over the holiday weekend.

The Greyhound Bus station was the scene of a vicious mob attack on Freedom Riders in 1961, an attack that Montgomery Police and State Troopers allowed to happen.

     It almost made the "Terminal" truly the end of the line for the white and black bus riders.

     Currently a dozen works of art related to the event are on display, and there's a booth where you can view videotaped comments other people have left, or leave your own. There are categories for witnesses, participants, and strangers. I watched a few and found only remarks by those who were on the "right" side of history. I wondered if it might be a more powerful experience to hear from some of those who took part on the other side.

     The Freedom Riders are commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the rides, a story so well told in a recent PBS documentary. If you missed it, watch it online, and then visit the new museum. It's located behind the old Federal Courthouse downtown.

     Hours are very limited...Fridays and Saturdays, Noon - 4:00pm. But the windows of the old station are an exhibit in themselves, and they're open 24/7.