Art and Design Challenge Freedom Riders (2.9)

This is the location of the Greyhound Bus Station 

Jim Zwerg, he suffered the most injuries on that day

John Lewis, on the Freedom Riders that survived that brutal day

My class and I took a field trip to Montgomery, Alabama. We observed many monuments and memorials and I expanded my knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement. One of the topics discussed on this trip was the experience of the Freedom Riders. Before visiting Montgomery I knew little about the Freedom Riders, all I recognized was the title. I didn't know the people involved or why the people were called that. I remember standing outside the Freedom Riders' museum and listening to a lady tell the story of these amazing people. Many parts of the story were hard to imagine and believe that there was so much intolerance for innocent humans. When I returned home I wanted to learn more, the assignment of creating a monument or memorial for the Freedom Riders was a task that was interesting to me.

When I first thought of creating something that would commemorate the Freedom Riders the question of whether to honor all just the ones that were in Montgomery came upon me. I first thought about just commemorating the Montgomery Freedom Riders but I didn't want the message to be interpreted as the Freedom Riders of Montgomery were any more important than those that were not pictured. My first task was to create a memorial that would involve all of the Freedom Riders. The Freedom Riders' museum had a glass window with the names of the Freedom Riders and that was where I got my inspiration to make sure I had a glass element were all the Freedom Riders would be commemorated. I continued to look for inspiration from other monuments and memorials and remembered the figures that were on the "outskirts" of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The statues were life-sized and one could walk up to them and stare into their noble eyes.  I vividly recall the statues that, I believe, were commemorating Rosa Parks. I know that if I created a monument or memorial, I would want the viewer to have that same feeling of being able to feel part of the scene. I would want my memorial to have life-sized Freedom Riders and a life-sized bus.

Through my research, I read about many of the Freedom Rides and events that lead up to and following the rides. According to an article from Britannica, the United States Supreme Court banned segregation in interstate buses in the year 1946. Later, in 1960 the Supreme Court decided on the Boynton versus Virginia which declared "that segregation in interstate travel, including bus station facilities, violated the interstate commerce Act" ( African American History Month Feature 2012 Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station, Alabama). African Americans disagreed with the decisions of the Supreme Court which led to the creation of the nonviolent rides. The rides were made up of "white" and "black" civil rights activists who were strong and pushed through many hardships. I vision the statues of the Montgomery Riders to be in the bus and looking straight forward with dignity because nothing stopped the Freedom Riders. The memorial would be made of all bronze except for the back of the bus, which would be the glass piece with all the names of the Freedom Riders. Therefore, people who view the memorial can have a glips inside the bus. The bus itself would be bronze and look like it is made of bricks, pipes, baseball bats and chains. I would want the bus to have this appearance to symbolize that when people beat the riders down with their makeshift weapons, it just made them stronger and fight harder. I would have the bus facing west towards Missippi were many of the buses were headed. Around the bus, there would be small bushed mixed with white poppies because poppies symbolize peace. The plants would be in a ring-like pattern around the bus and the community would help plant the flowers.

The Freedom Riders deserve to be remembered forever and I think students should learn more about them because they truly changed the course of history.
Sources:
Britannica: Freedom Riders

History.com: Freedom Riders

National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places Program: African American History Month Feature 2012 Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station, Alabama 

PBS.org: Meet the players Freedom Riders

Monument Builders of North America: Monument Materials, Finished, and Techniques

USC News: Architects' dilemma on memorials: Forget and heal, or confront and grieve