Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who confronted segregation laws in segregated parts of the US by riding on buses. The first Freedom Ride occurred in 1961 on May 4th, going from Washington DC to New Orleans.

Even though the 1960 Supreme Court decision (Boynton v. Virginia) outlawed racial segregation in restaurants and bus terminal waiting rooms, bus travel laws were not enforced. The Freedom Riders challenged bus travel segregation and often faced violence, arrest, and firebombs.