May 20, 1961
With the local police looking on, 300 white segregationists attacked a busload of both black and white “Freedom Riders” in Montgomery, Alabama’s bus depot. Among those beaten was Justice Department official John Seigenthaler who had tried to negotiate their safety. Media attention pushed Attorney General Robert Kennedy to send in U.S. Marshals to protect the Riders, who had been seeking to guarantee equal access to interstate transportation by riding the bus.
