Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff retraced the 1961 Freedom Rides with some of the original Freedom Riders as they traveled to Montgomery and Birmingham, Ala. Among the participants was Congressman John Lewis, Diane Nash, Bernard Lafayette, the Rev. C.T. Vivian, Jim Zwerg, John Seigenthaler and the Rev. James Lawson. More than four decades after being expelled from the university for helping fight segregation in Nashville, Lawson returned to Vanderbilt as a Distinguished University Professor.
Read coverage of the Freedom Ride in the Vanderbilt Register.
Watch Freedom Ride footage with original Freedom Rider Congressman John Lewis. (RealPlayer)
Watch Freedom Ride footage with original Freedom Rider John Siegenthaler. (RealPlayer)
View a photo gallery of the trip.
Listen to panel discussions that took place during the Freedom Ride (Jan. 28 discussion; Jan. 29 discussion)
Watch video about James Lawson.
Watch Q&A with James Lawson.
Read more about Lawson.
Media contact: Princine Lewis, (615) 322-NEWS
princine.l.lewis@vanderbilt.edu
Video Written/Produced: Emily Pearce
Shot/Edited/Produced: Pat Slattery
