Board commemorates 50th anniversary of Freedom Riders

On Wednesday, May 4, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners recognized the "Freedom Rides" and the more than 400 young people in their late teens and early twenties who rode those buses 50 years ago. Taking part in the recognition at the Board of Commissioners' Auditorium were (left to right) John Reeves representing Dr. William G. Anderson a freedom rider; retired Judge Claudia House Morcom, former director and legal representative for freedom riders; Board Chairman Michael J. Gingell; Lucy H. Maddox, former secretary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Dr.Silas Norman, former leader of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; Reverend Richard L. Gleason, freedom rider; Barbara Talley, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Task Force Peace Walk Organizer; Roger Goolsby current president of the Martin Luther King Jr. Task Force; Barbara Jean Johnson, Freedom Riders aide and representative for Detroit Public Television; Commissioner Mattie McKinney Hatchett; John Hardy, a field organizer for freedom riders and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; and Board Vice Chairman Jeff Matis. On May 4, 1961, the Freedom Rides brought together people of different races, religions, cultures, and economic backgrounds from across the United States to fight the ugliness of racial segregation, racial inequality, and economic injustice while challenging the laws of the land that upheld the system of segregation. A documentary on the Freedom Riders will air Monday, May 16, on Detroit Public Television WTVS, Channel 56. Photo by Julia Ruffin, courtesy of Board of Commissioners Published: Fri, May 13, 2011

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