On May 4, 1961, a group of 7 African Americans and 6 whites began the historic Freedom Rides. This group of 13 courageous Americans set out to protest segregation at interstate bus stations. They knew what they were getting into, but they didn't care. All they wanted was for everyone to be treated equally, even if it cost them their lives. The Freedom Riders gained the attention of many people by refusing to follow unjust laws, and in doing so, they accomplished many things that have positively impacted the rights of everyone today. The Freedom Rides were organized by CORE (Congress of Racial Equality). In 1947, they also had what they called a journey of reconciliation. The Reconciliation Journey also had the same goal as the Freedom Riders, which is why CORE used it as a template to create the Freedom Riders. The Freedom Rides of 1961 sought to test a 1960 Supreme Court decision in Boynton v. Virginia that segregation of interstate transportation facilities, including bus terminals, was also unconstitutional. (History.com staff). A big difference between the Reconciliation Ride of 1947 and the Freedom Rides of 1961 was the inclusion of women. (History.com staff). The Freedom Riders' method of getting everyone's attention, which was very successful, was to use only white people's restrooms and lunch counters. CORE leader James Farmer Jr. expected “Southern racists to create a crisis.” (David 9). The first violent incident occurred on May 12 in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where three African-American Freedom Riders were violently attacked while attempting to enter a whites-only waiting area. (History.com staff). They would sit at the lunch counter for hours and when people tried to get them to leave, they wouldn't say a word. They were just looking at middle of paper......stations all over the country. (Staff History.com) After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963, President Lyndon Johnson continued Kennedy's work for a civil society. rights bill. He urged Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and succeeded. This law prohibited segregation in public places throughout the United States. The following year, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1964. The two laws together, although not entirely, ended segregation in the South (Davide 45). What this really means is that without the Freedom Rides, the world would most likely still have a lot of legal segregation. The Freedom Riders not only fought for their own freedom, but for the freedom of all, and succeeded. The Freedom Riders gained the attention of many people by refusing to follow unjust laws, and in doing so accomplished many things that have positively impacted the rights of everyone today..