Reconciliation Journey - BOMA Minute 4-23-17

On this day, April 23, 1947 Bayard Rustin and George Houser were the principle organizers of the first Civil Rights Freedom Ride through the South.

They titled it: “The Journey of Reconciliation”

Two organizations were the ride’s principal sponsors. The first was CORE, the Congress Of Racial Equality and the second was the Fellowship For Reconciliation. Sixteen men, 8 black and 8 white embarked on The Journey of Reconciliation. Created to force the United States to uphold the 1946 Supreme Court ruling that declared ‘segregated seating unconstitutional. Morgan v. Virginia was a landmark decision with a 6-1 ruling in favor of desegregation, declaring segregation on interstate buses illegal.

However, when they rode through Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Judge Henry Whitfield had some of them arrested. Ignoring the Supreme Court Ruling, he sentenced the blacks to 30 days and the whites to 6 months on the Carolina chain gang.

This has been a Breath of My Ancestors Minute brought to you by the Institute of Radical Reconciliation… #WeMustNeverForget