This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides, a movement lead mainly by student activists from all over the country who challenged Southern segregation in America. Jim Crow laws blatantly disregarded the Interstate Commerce Commission’s ruling that outlawed racial segregation of restaurants and terminals of buses that crossed state lines. The Freedom Riders were met with violent resistance as they attempted to challenge the laws that remained in the South.

The Urban Issues Forum held a panel discussion in honor of the Freedom Riders from Los Angeles on Friday, June 3rd at the California African American Museum. Robert and Helen Singleton, Robert Farrell and Edward Johnson discussed their experiences as African Americans living in those times and what compelled them to participate in such a courageous crusade. Robert Farrell is also a co-founder of the Urban Issues Forum currently lead by Anthony Samad, the event’s facilitator.

Helen Singleton, the only woman on the panel, was a student at Santa Monica College when she answered the call to continue the mission of the Freedom Riders in the South. Her mother was from Virginia and she vividly remembered the tension she felt as a child while traveling there for family visits because of the segregation. She had been watching the activities on the news with the rest of the world and felt like it was something she had to do, even after hearing the objections of her new husband Robert, who was also participating in the Rides.

Singleton’s mug shot was used on the cover of the book “Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Freedom Riders.” She described how disgusted she felt before the photo was taken as she sat in a Los Angeles police precinct looking at a poster that was created to recruit policeman from Mississippi to Los Angeles. She now believes some of those officers from Mississippi did come to L.A. and it’s one of the main reasons the Los Angeles Police Department became well-known over the years for having racial turmoil with the community it served.

As Singleton spoke, I could hear the majority black audience gasp, as most of us had never experienced or even heard first-hand about what she described. She was met with loud applause as she dispelled what she called a commonly spread misconception that blacks don’t trust each other and won’t unite for a common cause. She asserted that blacks have always been agents of their own freedom since the beginning. No one handed blacks their freedom in America.

Robert Singleton was a student at UCLA, with panelist Robert Farrell, when he began to fight injustice in Westwood. Though the segregation was more subtle, they knew that they could not receive service at restaurants. Waiters simply wouldn’t serve them; they would grow tired of waiting and leave. They were turned down for employment, though there were ads saying employees were needed. Local salons and barbers refused to care for their hair. They were not allowed to rent apartments so most of them couldn’t live on or near campus. This led him to join the Freedom Riders. He wanted to see the promise of America fulfilled.

Robert Farrell remembered how black women at UCLA were practically non-existent because the few blacks enrolled were male athletes. Retired California Senator Diane Watson was one of the few black women on campus at the time. As an African American woman who graduated from UCLA, it’s hard for me to imagine a time like that. Though she is not the first, a young black woman by the name of Jasmine Hill is currently student body president of UCLA.

Farrell’s experiences at UCLA also compelled him to join the Freedom Rides but he said he never set out to be an icon or hero. He and others like him just wanted to see things change for the better and they couldn’t ignore the injustices. They all felt it was their duty, which in turn gave them the courage to fight their fears and push forward.

Edward Johnson moved from Houston, Texas to Los Angeles to escape the blatant racism and segregation there, but found that it wasn’t that much different in Los Angeles. Samad added that though Restricted Covenance laws were banned in 1954, it wasn’t until the 1970s that integration started to occur in Los Angeles city housing. While attending college, Johnson began to hear about the Freedom Riders and credits his youthful exuberance and painful experiences as motivating factors for his participation.

Before joining the Freedom Riders, people like the Singletons, Farrell and Johnson were warned to expect to be jailed without bail, to pack bags for a one-way trip and to make arrangements with family in the event they did not return. They joined the Freedom Riders anyway. Their patience had run out.

Within a few months, the Freedom Riders mission was complete and ultimately considered a success. Blacks and whites together experienced violence, were jailed and faced death in the name of fairness and equality for all.

The one regret that the panelists expressed was failing to make sure that the next generation, especially African Americans, was taught the history of this particular movement and time in America. They witnessed how their own parents rarely discussed how they suffered at the hands of segregation and racism but now know that not talking about it doesn’t inform or inspire anyone to action. Robert Singleton, a professor at Loyola Marymount, challenged us to research this part of American history for ourselves and teach our children.

We must also find new ways to expose and address injustices of this era, but most importantly, we must be willing to join the fight, just like the Freedom Riders.