CER 26-0150 — Freedom Riders Recognition Resolution of 2026

2ENROLLED ______________________________ORIGINAL ______________________________A ChairmanCEREMONIAL PhilRESOLUTION Mendelson26-150 CouncilmemberIN AnitaTHE BondsCOUNCIL 6OF 8THE ______________________________DISTRICT _______________________________OF CouncilmemberCOLUMBIA MatthewMay Frumin5, Councilmember2026 BrookeTo Pintorecognize ______________________________and _______________________________honor Councilmemberthe ChristinaFreedom HendersonRiders, Councilmembercivil Robertrights C.activists who risked their lives to travel to Southern states in protest of racial segregation.

White, Jr.

______________________________ _______________________________ Councilmember Brianne K.

Nadeau Councilmember Janeese Lewis George A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION __________ IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA __________ To recognize and honor the Freedom Riders, civil rights activists who risked their lives to travel to Southern states in protest of racial segregation.

th rd WHEREAS, from April 9 to April 23 , 1947, sixteen members of CORE participated in the Journey of Reconciliation, embarking on buses from Washington, D.C.

56 WHEREAS, Black and white participants who refused to move faced assaults and arrests, with three participants in the Journey of Reconciliation ultimately being sentenced to work in segregated chain gangs;

60 WHEREAS, in response to continued defiance of Supreme Court rulings, CORE organized the Freedom Rides in 1961, with the first bus departing from Washington D.C.

64 WHEREAS, the Freedom Riders faced violent mob attacks, often supported by the police, including several attacks in which assailants threw firebombs into the buses in an attempt to burn occupants alive;

68ENROLLED ORIGINAL WHEREAS, international press coverage of the Freedom Rides led to criticism and condemnation of the U.S., with countries including France, the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, and Mexico arguing that racism belied American claims of a free and democratic society;

72 WHEREAS, organizers rejected the federal administration’s request for a “cooling off period,” instead escalating the campaign with more than sixty rides organized throughout the summer months of 1961;

76 WHEREAS, in the month of July, 1961, more than 300 Freedom Riders were incarcerated simultaneously;

79 WHEREAS, 75% of Freedom Riders ultimately were arrested for refusing to comply with segregation laws;

82 WHEREAS, amongst others, DC-area natives Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, Genevieve Hughes Houghton, and Gwendolyn T.

85 WHEREAS, amongst others, Howard University students Hank Thomas, John Moody, Kwame Ture, and Dion Diamond participated in the Freedom Rides;

88 WHEREAS, the Freedom Singers amplified the messages of the civil rights movement through gospel music and call-and-response spirituals, performing across the country and before a crowd of more than 250,000 at the March on Washington in August 1963;

92 WHEREAS, throughout the civil rights movement, CORE and other organizations, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, organized acts of civil disobedience in the form of sit-ins, bus boycotts, and public marches and demonstrations;

97 WHEREAS, Black Americans have continued to fight for racial equality, opposing state-imposedstate- imposed voting laws, voter suppression efforts, segregation in public schools, educational discrimination, housing discrimination, employment discrimination, and other forms of legal and illegal injustice;injustice.

ENROLLED ORIGINAL RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, thatThat this resolution may be cited as the “Freedom Riders Recognition Resolution of 2026”.

The Council of the District of Columbia hereby recognizes all of the Freedom Riders who fought against racism and segregation, courageously facing violence and arrests, and risking their lives to ensure a better, more equitable future.

This resolution shall take effect immediatelyimmediately. upon the first date of publication in the District of Columbia Register.