They were black and white, young and old, men and women. In the spring and summer of 1961, they put their lives on the line, riding buses throughout the American South to challenge segregation in interstate transport. Their story--one of the most celebrated episodes of the civil rights movement--is movingly told by acclaimed historian Raymond Arsenault in this newly revised edition of his classic Freedom Riders.

Raymond Arsenault is John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg.

• List of Maps


• Editors' Note


• Preface


• 1 You Don't Have To Ride Jim Crow


• 2 Beside the Weary Road


• 3 Hallelujah! I'm A-Travelin'


• 4 Alabama Bound


• 5 Get on Board, Little Children


• 6 If You Miss Me From the Back of the Bus


• 7 Freedom's Coming and It Won't Be Long


• 8 Make Me a Captive, Lord


• 9 Ain't Gonna Let No Jail House Turn Me 'Round


• 10 Woke Up This Morning with My Mind on Freedom


• 11 Oh, Freedom


• Epilogue: Glory Bound


• Appendix: Roster of Freedom Riders


• Notes


• Bibliography


• Acknowledgments


• Index