The Freedom Ridees, Anniston Trailways Station
A Greyhound bus rolled into Anniston on Mother’s Day 1961. The passengers were Freedom Riders testing bus laws. What happened next was ugly, brutal, and changed everything.
The station still stands today, now part of a National Monument you can visit.
KKK Members Board in Atlanta
Several Ku Klux Klan members got on the bus in Atlanta, pretending to be regular passengers.
They planned to attack the Freedom Riders when they reached Alabama. During the trip, these men threatened the activists with growing hostility.
Their warnings became more direct once the bus crossed the Alabama state line. The Klansmen told Black riders what would happen to them in Alabama.
These threats made the Freedom Riders worry about what waited for them in Anniston.
Arrival at Anniston Trailways Station
The bus pulled into Anniston at 1:54 PM on Mother’s Day.
Only a few police officers stood in the mostly empty station. While the driver talked with police, the Freedom Riders bought sandwiches at the whites-only lunch counter.
The station had separate drinking fountains and waiting areas for white and Black travelers. The Freedom Riders didn’t know about the Greyhound bus attack that happened just an hour earlier.
That bus now burned on the roadside while an angry mob blocked the exits.
Attack Begins on the Bus
As the bus prepared to leave, white men rushed aboard. They ordered all Black passengers to move to the back seats.
When the Freedom Riders refused, the men attacked. Armed with brass knuckles and clubs, they first targeted Charles Person, a young Black man seated at the front.
Jim Peck, the white leader of the group, tried to help. The attackers knocked him unconscious for defending his Black colleagues.
Walter Bergman Steps Forward
Walter Bergman, a 61-year-old retired professor from Detroit, moved forward asking for peace. Despite his age, he stood firm against the violence.
Bergman had founded the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. His deep belief in equality led him to join the Freedom Rides.
Following nonviolent principles, Bergman didn’t fight back when attacked. The mob knocked him down and repeatedly kicked his head and chest.
Birmingham Police Commissioner’s Conspiracy
Eugene Bull Connor, Birmingham’s Police Commissioner, planned these attacks with local Klan groups. He promised them 15 minutes to beat the Freedom Riders.
Connor kept officers away from the bus station that day. He wanted the Riders beaten until it looked like a bulldog got a hold of them.
An FBI informant in the Klan told the FBI about these plans before the attacks. The FBI did nothing to protect the Freedom Riders.
Second Attack in Birmingham
Another mob waited when the bus reached Birmingham.
As the Freedom Riders stepped off, men attacked them with baseball bats and iron pipes. Walter Bergman suffered a second beating.
The mob hit white Freedom Riders especially hard, seeing them as traitors to their race. Just as Connor promised, police stayed away during the first 15 minutes.
The Freedom Riders faced this brutal attack without protection.
FBI Lawsuit and Justice Delayed
In 1975, Gary Thomas Rowe, an FBI informant in the Klan, testified to Congress.
He revealed the FBI knew about the planned attacks but did nothing to stop them despite the arrests made at that time.
In 1977, Bergman sued the FBI for $1 million. His lawsuit claimed they failed to protect the Freedom Riders despite knowing about the attack plans.
After six years in court, Bergman won his case in 1983. The judge awarded him only $35,000 of the $2 million he sought.
Visiting Freedom Riders National Monument
The Freedom Riders National Monument includes the former Anniston Trailways Station at 1031 Gurnee Avenue, Anniston, Alabama 36201.
Open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM, admission is free. You can take self-guided tours year-round or join ranger-led programs offered on weekends.
For the complete experience, visit both the Trailways Station and the Greyhound Bus Burning Site located six miles west on Highway 202.
The visitor center provides maps, educational materials, and a short film about the Freedom Riders.
Read More from WhenInYourState.com:
The post Police Gave the KKK Exactly 15 Minutes to Attack Freedom Riders at This Terminal, Now a Monument appeared first on When In Your State.