Civil Rights Movement Freedom Riders Urge Younger Activists to Get Out the Vote

Image Source: Charlotte Kramon

July 31, 2024 Story by: Editor

Charles Person , one of the original Freedom Riders from the Civil Rights Movement , joined organizers across Georgia in urging young activists from Generation Z and millennials to encourage youth participation in voting. Speaking at a conference hosted by the New Leaders Council, a nonprofit that promotes civic engagement, Person addressed a group of young leaders gathered in Atlanta, a key battleground state.

The event took place at a critical juncture, coming just days after President Joe Biden’s campaign withdrawal, which many Democrats saw as an opportunity for victory in November. According to Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign, more than 15,500 volunteers have signed up to support ground efforts in Georgia since she announced her run.

Despite the energy surrounding the event, there was a noticeable sense of uncertainty among the young activists about the current political climate. After Person encouraged the group to focus on turnout, Bessie King, a 39-year-old Mexican-American community organizer from Boston, expressed her concerns.

“What I’m facing is people’s disillusionment,” King said. “Despite the change in candidates, I’m still not convinced they’re representing my values.”

Person acknowledged her frustration, stating that watching the news can discourage anyone. However, he emphasized the importance of looking beyond individual issues to focus on the greater good. He encouraged King and her peers to educate others on how government functions, empathize with people's struggles, share ideas, and most importantly, act now with the resources they have.

“Don’t give up,” Person advised. “You have to believe in you. I believe in you because the future is in your hands.”

Person later appeared with Joan Browning , another Freedom Rider now in her 80s, at Emory University, where they are donating their archives. Emory's Rose Library is honoring the interracial activists who boarded buses in the Deep South in 1961, pushing the Kennedy administration to enforce a Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in interstate transportation unconstitutional.

The Freedom Rides, organized by the Congress of Racial Equality, were rooted in nonviolent direct action but were met with severe violence. Browning’s journey landed her in jail in Albany, Georgia, while Person, only 18 at the time, was brutally attacked by the Ku Klux Klan in Birmingham, Alabama. He is donating a photograph to Emory that shows the tennis ball-sized lump on his head, a result of being beaten with a pipe upon his arrival.

Despite these hardships, Person didn’t boast about risking his life for freedoms many now take for granted. In fact, he didn’t tell his wife about being a Freedom Rider until 15 years into their marriage when their family saw a video of him during a visit to the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum .

"The causes we were fighting for were bigger than ourselves," Person reflected.

Both Person and Browning remain optimistic about the nation's future, even as courts challenge legislation they helped secure, like the 1965 Voting Rights Act . Their hope lies with the younger generation.

However, as the conference drew to a close—just days before Harris’s rally in Atlanta—King shared that over breakfast, she and five other attendees, all in their late 20s or early 30s, expressed their struggles to overcome their political frustrations. While they agreed that Person’s speech was a conference highlight, they still had pressing questions: How can they remain hopeful when politicians don't seem to address their needs? How do they hold them accountable when they fail to listen?

“We’re so exhausted by that rhetoric about hope,” King said. “We want answers. We want solutions. We want steps.”

Not everyone shared King’s sentiment. Some attendees believed that now, more than ever, is the time to press on, as Person’s message demonstrated.

“It makes me angry because I see so many people taking their vote for granted,” said 36-year-old Ashley Nealy. “Person is a living reminder of what had to be overcome and why we shouldn’t take the vote for granted.”

Despite his own grievances, Person emphasized that he still votes, and Browning likened voting to taking a bus: it might not get you to your destination immediately, but it moves you forward.

“I’ve voted for some people who were total scoundrels,” Browning admitted, adding that she preferred them over the alternatives on the ballot. Change, she reminded the audience, is a "long haul." Source: US News