ineties.
The Civil Rights Movement was born during the Eisenhower years from 1953 to 1961 and provided an united voice for the African Americans to protest against the racial discrimination that continued to linger within their communities (Walters 20). Led by Martin Luther King, Jr. and his advocates of non-violent direct action, the protesters from the Civil Rights Movements triggered violent responses from the white people that led to bloody riots. King's strategy of using non-violent direction action to create tension and send fear into the white moderates of potential social disorder led to major riots (Ling 17). King's Chicago Freedom Movement, designed to improve housing for the African-American people in Chicago triggered a violent response from thousands of angry white people who threw rocks and jeered at the protesters (Ralph 30).
Another group of protesters that indirectly caused riots situations were the Freedom Riders who were attacked by an armed mob at the terminal in Anniston, Alabama on May 14, 1961. Not only did the mob chased the Greyhound bus carrying the first group of Freedom Riders, they destroyed the bus and set it on fire. They also beat the riders as they exited from the bus (Cooper 13). However, Freedom Riders continued to ride the Greyhound bus. Another severe incident occurred at the bus terminal in Montgomery where a large mob attacked the riders, leaving them unconscious, while the city police refrained from intervening. A riot erupted outside the First Baptist Church sheltering the riders. Only after the declaration of martial law, was the group allowed to leave safely for their final destination. However, mid-way, they were arrested by the police (Cooper 14).
Riots also broke out when African-American students were allowed to attend all-white schools. On September 30, 1962, James Meredith, an African-American student, triggered riots when he enrolled in an all-white school (Zinsser 36).
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