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After 65 Years, Freedom Riders Finally Complete Their Journey to New Orleans
The commemorative trip retraced the 1961 Freedom Rides route and ended with a ceremony honoring civil rights activists and their descendants.
- On Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, Freedom Riders and their descendants arrived at Xavier University, completing a 12-day bus journey from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans that traced their original 1961 route.
- After a mob firebombed their bus in Alabama on May 14, 1961, the original riders flew to New Orleans, where Xavier University provided refuge in St. Michael's dormitory.
- Marking the 65th anniversary, activists mobilized voters ahead of the Nov. 3 election amid concerns following the Louisiana v. Callais Supreme Court decision, which weakened voting rights protections.
- Inside St. Katharine Drexel Chapel, Rev. Traci Blackmon told attendees, 'November 3rd is an inflection point, but not an ending point,' as the Golden Voices Gospel choir performed.
- Bishop Erika Crawford of the Eighth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church called for continued work, honoring late civil rights leaders Norman Francis and Jerome 'Big Duck' Smith.
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23 Articles
The Toronto Star+20 Reposted by 20 other sources
After 65 years, Freedom Riders finally complete their journey to New Orleans
Multiple generations of Black civil rights activists met at Xavier University on Wednesday to honor a group of Freedom Riders after they finally completed a disrupted bus journey from Washington D.C. to New Orleans 65 years after the original trip…
·Toronto, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources23
Leaning Left8Leaning Right3Center12Last UpdatedBias Distribution52% Center
Bias Distribution
- 52% of the sources are Center
52% Center
L 35%
C 52%
13%
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