And then it came ... the entire world began to change
A60s, her husband the Rev. Richard Johnson, Leon Ingram, Mother Roberta Edwards and many more joined forces with the Freedom Riders and went to various homes of black families to convince them that the time to register was at hand. There comes a time in every life when one must choose. That time had come for the Davis family and others in the backwoods section of Allendale County of South Carolina.
Each Freedom Rider was assigned an area and/or family group with which to live and encourage the people. Bill and Nash were the Freedom Riders assigned to my area. Bill and Nash were around my age, because that was the year when I finished college. They were going to finish college the following year. They joined forces with us, risking their lives as we, too, were doing, for the cause of the simple, but necessary, right to vote. Not only were we endangering ourselves, we were also endangering the lives of the families who lived on the plantations. Many days we were chased and threatened by white owners.
There was not a lot of sharing of information about the Freedom Riders. I only remember that the two were from New York City. I do not know the last names these many years later, and sadly there was no sharing of last names. They had a goal set and that is what their objective was, therefore we joined forces attempting to reach the goal. Bill and Nash were committed to the cause even if it meant being arrested or dying with us. They had to be trusting of us because with every dangerous hole we walked in they were there supporting and suggesting what our next move should be. We knew the area and the mentality of the people in the region, and they came with the techniques.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s movement of nonviolent teachings had certainly impacted their lives, and they truly adopted the concept. Many of the Freedom Riders are seniors now, if still alive, and deserve a big “thank you” for being the first responders to the cause of nonviolent protest. I pray that some of the great-grandparents of the youth involved in the Enough is Enough movement were among the courageous Freedom Riders. They will be able to share experiences with the youth and encourage these young people. The Freedom Riders will be able to let them know that the goal will not be accomplished in one march but many. The tree that they are trying to destroy has long roots which will take much energy, time, patience and prayer to uproot.
May they gather strength from the knowledge shared by those from the Civil Rights Trail. That trip was one of Hope and Fury, and for success theirs will be as well.