American Experience; Freedom Riders; Interview with Moses Newson, 1 of 3

oh you did allow the rise hadn't really had a long experience in the deep south that you had been so allow for own unique colors and some residents away you think when you heard that they were going to go he's now the city on wednesday the news on the dangers and assume they'd just be another ship them to the south where i was born and raise and no question that alabama mississippi louisiana were not places where you wanted to says peake said you know what i mean it was dangerous you know the prison you sign of that ms nunn but the losses and a citizen can do you know just

places where black people couldn't do certain things you work with it dc the agencies so how long will you give me ms cora lee so this young farmer that i would go with

the group for two weeks i had also take an assignment to go out to new orleans to cover hearing civil rights year and voting rights so i gather they had a few things to do around the office and then i flew down to at university and called on there i didn't think it was going to be too much problems going down to virginia north carolina and it was horrible when they're there for american newspapers and farm ahead as close to come along i missed the first two three days they love authors i caught up with them that we can balance the greensboro to cancer genesis

you know you know you as a reporter and in the roof for a protest and the riders they didn't know who was on the buses and we didn't know who owned buses on twitter and whatever they were doing to the writers they would do everything to everybody else who was on that bus will have rules would be on the greyhound happened beyond trailways bus and they were the passengers and really didn't know what was going on but when it acted alone won't make of names when only did they did to all of us when you get to have their eyes on her and on

her eyes you know didn't see why it was well organized didn't seem it was isolated that they were isolated there was no protection for it it seemed like there was you know in a special position because you like it and passion into it as they had a singer now when you join whatever is done the group because i had missed a lot of time for san diego's so to watch how they operate and traveling with them to go to it is sitting along their report meetings you go to sam's to see all the plans and what they plan to do the next day how they were going to do it so you sort of an insight although you're outside in and i thought it was pretty well organized

they're listening to know what you're going to do it the next stop and you know where the lights were going to take to lila whites were going to take the leap and basically what to do and they are going to these places ignoring signs that said why khaled awad not just going around and say man ah they would go in and ask for service in the cafeterias olivia and her off and they had to go through some pretty mean people to get to these places one of the things that we know that we'll ever gone on for that that's what they deserve time amazing people what they did was pretty extraordinary also that it was deja vu north carolina georgia and they were just too well we're just going to add to the station's about that seemed

crazy using what you sow well this is what they were doing they were purposely similar not they could use of facilities they would say in a white person and to go into the color barrier but first we're going to layer of model for whites and they did they were close some of the bravest people i've ever seen you know they do this thing although one stop after the other and very often they would get cursed earth and an and call book on maintenance on those things but i say read in your intuitive violence ended up in tokyo to really really well no no no use the asset about midway the bus

they would nominate have sewn sitting in the front of a close to have somebody and detonators and used to have so in the back of the bus or so get out a sidekick out of action in case somebody's got arrested or something and that there is a would be available to lay back out on to the next stop to see the zeros a person as of assistance when they were free and i know the misery goodman was women white women on a trip one day soon as that they had to wait awhile cyclone and maims en own inward loman friend a kid not a town that's so that they enter and nights in a great speed sensors there is a lot of student philpott that way by people must feel when they get mistreated and call or common

names and really a country like barrett sees fit and his removal account of what psy had gone through them is it all about so you have all these different routes at this time so some us now moves to sell or hopefully will be fifty years old twenty years old say they know you're gay in our lives and be an error lead a snitch unicorn was a quarter of court called a car is of racial equality and it was a long as asian that believed in action do an action of naacp joey focus on illegal activities and this particular situation naacp so discouraged it but

gerlach oil knew that somewhere down the line that we're going to need naacp lawyers have been in this situation so and they cooperated with the naacp on it but it was basically a corporation so call it was the kind of the more radical radical one of yours well it was deathly ones that believe more in the tank and just take an action an isolated confronting people in the streets or will it maybe that was so i was away they operate than a sit down one of these days in nineteen forty seven but they didn't go as deep in the south as they were doing this time and actually they didn't have all the laws that they had for the second time around but the second time around a worn susan naacp and

one susan area of enter state travel and trusted traveler montgomery and then the buoyant and case and robin young lawyer who was involved in a restaurant situation so and three different legal rulings to buy them up seven pound at that one out there are signs that no is what the freedom riders were trying to do it was just another law that existed before these are a lot of changes that we're on interstate bus to launch an e in these interstate rest of the course over and why it is so the last quarter well what the situation was is this

the laws were there to cover the opportunity for blacks allowed them to sit anywhere they wanted to use all these facilities but in the south and that was and one who could do a lot of places to see signs by eight people colored people and they went for senate that way and that what call was to missouri exposing the hypocrisy that was involved and encouraging people to actually take advantage of the law also on the books and there are a lot of people are afraid to do that and they had a reason to be afraid to do that so wouldn't call dating younger south koreans are there you know an enlightening encounter until they come out of sight of black people in the waiting room commodities veterans are delayed they made their

pitches after they did what they did do in the day they would have mass meetings at churches collins is aware where they were staying and that's when they would basically encourage people to a big advance of the opportunities that they use live in one minute like people around the old places where they went when you actually do on the test you know right now there was i would tell people you know that we did it you can do it you know when it in places where they have signs said we couldn't eat we sat in places where they said we couldn't see it and you can do it only had to do is do it right now there was no way to live and there was

one lone there was a freelance reporter for new yacht named the three degrees sometimes he was mistaken as one of those who are not there were thirteen freedom riders oh seven blacks and six wives and sometimes reporters seven blacks and his seven whites and six blacks were there was inaccurate and it probably came out of and some farmers first book when he wrote about the freedom writers poet he enlisted thirteen people there and one people you listen with devries solid unfreeze certain scenes not of freedom riders you've freelancer and left out the name of your younger as one excellent freedom riders and a close that there was no radio in the major papers were hammers in

the white press was there you know you know the late arrivals were arrested in mississippi us at all we fell below now you know now most of the way along but we did not have the worldwide reporters there and locally areas some would come up from time to time but they weren't rioting and buses with us and didn't make a manta stops some are small places and show up at all and then he will or not now not really for me it is the operate very

quietly one hours out there you never knew who was i was going to be rooted in euros gaza's know what's going on so i had i didn't make a lot of fuss and i didn't try to contact a lot of people you never knew you deal with fear you want to join unions law these periods where you know you just go down the row was the i was the atmosphere like what do you do on the one year as a challenge in north carolina and in the end george before it is the more narrow i think in traveling through most of a religious people

were actually are reading bones sometimes they would talk to people who might happen to be sitting alongside them but there was an awful lot of talking in the first stages of the train ride down the stone later on they started saying and songs until and that's another thing that is required to do and most of the writers and he was saying you know just ryan on the bus and it was you know a necessity of this festival is that it is just i think the eu that to anyone is so it wasn't i would say or even talk and there is an early stages they try not to identify themselves or interest and now although they had put out press releases about the free

rides and most layer is new that the the freedom riders was coming to a certain extent a lot of people who didn't want to get involved in this was on the people or neighbors were they were stopped by people a preferred not to get involved and there were some of the some of the local stations to actually take and the science of the day when they knew that the riders were coming through some would be closed and the doctor there was a lot of that a corporation the gods in confrontations in that so that they so in some ways was the ally a long question is you have periods of a real or a remote camp wyndham read books

as my words well basically it for me he was a little different than what would nominate been much rather than procedure probably would've been even reading a newspaper trying to get a nap or something but in a situation and i said do you want to saut a teepee as open and early summer watch what the other people are doing and nokia bristol what was going on is basically it's b i knew i was at the dinner when whitey walkers in the mud luther king was there they had a bee you welcome and in atlanta that saturday and there's some good news there we got some bad news today you know they gonna be a friendlier

welcome but later on with timeout from direct money to retain that urges people had been taken of irons out into various communities the kkk and other hate groups were planning to make sure we didn't get out of the alabama line and that was part of the bad news later that night jim farmer's wife calls promo was attended to learn that his father had better admit that he was going to leave for a few days in the vote even in charge and that the sort of creative attention to move to they thought it produces and military on display at his absence so us allies are going to this the belly of beast you know you're going out now without the leader the guy has created this whole thing that we

know oh well the main deck was leaderless and he's been a veteran guidance and its impact it was only dead who had been on the nineteen forty seven trip to date to go side of butter now haven't seen from a very you know it's quite a blow because as a stand became more dangerous so fama would let them know from time to time that even if it wanted to get off the crew knew him it would not be cruz has really even know so he was and he was the main man and losing him was was quite a sobering thing the president visited us we're close is the near and that was on the us team

and there's writers and there's no way there is violence at turning iceland weakness on this took place in a little place call rock hill south carolina rock hill had been going to one of bitter term oriented had some demonstrations they owned various issues so when we get there john lewis big low end hughes went into the little bus stop there and this is one of places where'd thought that wouldn't be a lot of joy ladin get out the bus they get home alone they are pretty good and the first blow today it's a known this trip came when john lewis and bees though thrown out of that place and that john lewis was a lot of baloney and we knew again into the ro ro

situation there would probably run from them all and again wow well kayla small place where a local people had been conducting some demonstrations earlier and girl things are pretty stirred up around there and pretty and nasty latin jazz around the bus station we get their butt song loosen be euros and thirty hughes went in anyway and they'll just come all and they get banged around kicked around and when they were thrown out of the plays john lewis was bleeding and i was the first blow that i had really insane ms lugo answer

is i'm not sure exactly where they get audiences is somewhere between mainland and they were you know going to the story about what happened there is that you know so i just knew as speed limit down the buses for quite awhile we never knew exactly who's getting off and somewhere along with a new way of cooking on the covers state police came on board phil collins and harry sims and we really know they wanted to time but eventually

they would go into a risk as well as that we lifted lead to you know we move was a farmer and it was it was so to test new and very very quiet but things got even more tense and more quiet when mina bus on the road that flag us down and the ghettos that turns a close the bus station in anniston those uprooted ness in that game are both there and you want to sue it best to be careful and i really became pretty quiet than and people knew we were a pre a dangerous situation that that risk or