White Husband Kills His Black Wife

This is one of those horrible stories I am seeing more and more of these days.  I am adding this to my collection entitled, "Do Black Lives Really Matter?". 

A white man has been sentenced to 72 years for killing Jenean Chapman, his Black wife.  Go here to read more.  

 I hate these stories.  I hate reading them and I hate blogging about them.  But I do it for a reason - the violence has to stop.  And we have the powe to make it stop.  

Violence is preventable.  This is why I host the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence every year.  We can PREVENT violence.  We can PREVENT domestic violence.  And you can help.   

Go here for more about Nonviolent Communication (NVC).  

Go here  for my review of the book Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg.  

Go here for more from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2025.  

To be clear, the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence is open to EVERYONE who is committed to nonviolence and peace.  

You can make a difference.  We can all make a difference.  

Connect with me on Goodreads.  

Connect with me on Authors' Den.  

Please leave your comments below.  

 

 

Riots in the UK - The Current Crisis

Rioting at a Hotel in Rotherham

We have been through one crisis after another over the past few years.  

Currently, riots are sweeping the UK.  They are linked with racism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment  promoted and spready by far-right groups. Hotels that house refugees and asylum seekers are being attacked and set on fire.  

In some cases, people from anti-racist groups are confronting the rioters. 

I recently posted about global conflict.  However, the violence has come home. This is very frightening for those of us living in the UK.

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) has a vital part to play, although I personally think its main impact is more about prevention.  But it has been used effectively in situations of extreme violence.  

Go here for more about NVC.  

And go here for my FREE worksheet for parents.  Parents have a vital role to play in preventing and ending the violence. 

NVC is based on empathy, which is about listening.  

We need to understand the causes of the violence.  People are very angry and have been for years now.  Certain groups and certin politicians are whipping up the anger.  

Why are these people so angry?  Because they think they have not been listened to.  They think they have been ignored by the powers that be, and at last, the violence is exploding.  

We must have meaningful dialogue if we are going to put an end to the violence.  

Go here for The Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2024.  

 

 

 

 

Spare the Rod, Love the Child

Naimah Latif

In today's blog post, Naimah Latif, Executive Producer of The Female Solution worldwide radio and TV network and the ON AIR worldwide radio and TV network, talks about her response to violence towards children.  I found this post very moving.  Go here to watch it.   

This is a very controversial subject.  How do you feel about violence against children? Do you "spare the rod"?  Or do you think this will "spoil the child"?  Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

Go here for more about how to parent using Nonviolent Communication (NVC) with Affirmations for Parents.  

 

 

Go here for readings from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

Go here for NVC resources.  

Go here for more from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2021. 

 

 

Injustice: The Film the Police Tried to Ban

My guest on the most recent edition of my Success Strategies online radio show was Ken Fero, the director of Injustice.   You have probably heard of, or seen, Injustice, Fero's film about seven UK families that are still fighting for justice after a family member died in police custody.  The police tried to ban this film - every time a cinema was scheduled to screen it, the police would phone them 15 minutes beforehand and tell them not to show it. 

Go here to listen.  

Ken Fero spoke to me about the fact that the police are, in his words, "killing Black people", and that this must stop.  

Some people believe the "Black Lives Matter" movement only pertains to the U.S.  Ken Fero talked with me about filming the experience of Black people and other migrant communities in many places, including the UK, Germany and France.  Go here to listen. 

He also spoke about his new film, Ultraviolence, and the fact that deaths in police custody are just "the tip of the iceberg".  

For more about Ken Fero and Injustice, see Ken Fero on Deaths in Police Custody.  

Go here to listen to our conversation.  

See also:  Protecting Our Communities.  

As I am sure you know, October is Black History Month/African Heritage Month here in the UK.  

And, of course, every month is Black History Month/African Heritage Month.  

Go here for my recent conversation with Brother Tony Warner of London Black History Walks:  Does Black History Really Matter?  As usual, he offered us loads of information about Black British history. 

Go here for more of my Black history blogs.  

Please leave your comments below and please share.  Thanks!  

Go here for more from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2020.  

The Global Peace Summit with Naimah Latif

I am delighted to invite you to The Global Peace Summit with Naimah Latif, owner and Executive Producer of The Female Solution, which will be held this weekend. We will be live on Blogtalk Radio, on Facebook and on Zoom - see below for details including the full schedule.

The presenters on The Female Solution - including me - will speak during the weekend, sharing thoughts about practical methods for achieving and maintaining global peace. I will be speaking about Nonviolent Communication (NVC) on Friday at 10 a.m. Central Time/4 p.m. UK time.

The full schedule is below. Please join us for as much of the programming as you can, and please share this with your networks.

As we are still reeling from the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and so many others, never was there more of a need for the Global Peace Summit.

For more about the Global Peace Summit, see:  How Can We Create aPeaceful World? Part 5. For more information, check out The Female Solution on Facebook.  

We will be live on Zoom (with segments heard on Blogtalk Radio on Soul Purpose Healing, It’s My House, and The Female Solution Radio show.)

Friday, August 28, 2020 9 am-2 pm Central Time / 3 pm-8 pm UK time

Zoom Meeting ID: 853 2272 7205 Passcode: 200663Okk

Saturday August 29, 2020 9 am-2 pm Central Time / 3 pm-8 pm UK time

Zoom Meeting ID: 853 5219 9959 Passcode: 040656

This two-day international meeting of the minds will feature presenters from all around the world sharing programs that provide for the health, interests, rights and needs of the people.  Many organizations whose members envision a world of peaceful coexistence through cooperation and mutual respect have demonstrated great success with initiatives that provide solutions to the challenges we face.  This gathering is for the purpose of sharing these solutions so that each of our local successes can spread to the global community. The format is as follows:

Each half hour segment will feature three presenters that give a five minute synopsis of their program, their successes, the challenges they overcame and their website and contact information. In the next 10 minutes, members of the audience may ask a one-minute question or make a one-minute statement regarding the information presented.

Watch us live on Zoom or listen live on Blogtalk Radio and call in and comment:

Friday, August 28th

9-10 am Central / 3-4 pm BST

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-female-solution

515-605-9325

10am -12 noon Central / 4 pm-6 pm BST

http://www.soulpurposehealing

215-383-5863

12 noon to 2 pm / 6 pm-8 pm BST

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/solarlandlord

619-768-2945

Saturday August 29th 2020

9 am-11 am Central / 3 pm-5 pm BST

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/solarlandlord

619-768-2945

11 am-2 pm Central / 5 pm-8 pm BST

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-female-solution,

515-605-9325 

 

The program is as follows:

Friday, August 28, 2020

9:00 Introduction of Presenters for the Day

9:30 Energy Healing: The Mind, Body, Spirit Connection

10:00 Non-Violent Communication: The Foundation For Peace (with Zhana)

10:30 How To Discipline Children Without Hitting Them

11:00 Peace Schools: Teaching Values in The Classroom

11:30 Cooperative Farming, Urban Gardening

12:00 Avoid Hospitals With Healthy Food Prepared At Home

12:30 Humanity First: Helping Our Neighbors

1:00 Housing Cooperatives, Tiny Houses

1:30 Solar Energy, Own Your Own Power

2:00 Closing

Saturday August  29, 2020

9:00 Introduction of Presenters For the Day

9:30 Bitcoin: A New Global Currency Empowering People

10:00 The Pan African Connection: Doing Business Overseas

10:30 Ending Conflict Through Interfaith Communications

11:00 Declaration of Peace, Cessation of War (DPCW)

11:30 Ethics In Elections: How To Protect Your Vote

12:00 Creating A Culture of Gender Equality

12:30 Redefining Manhood: Bringing Fathers Back Home

1:00 After Incarceration: Transforming New Citizens

1:30 Security With The Right Spirit: Police Officers Who Pray

2:00 Closing

For more information, check out The Female Solution on Facebook.  

Please submit your blog post to The Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence. 

 

Dawn Butler: It’s Time We Stopped Downplaying Racism in the UK

Dawn Butler MP

I found this article by Dawn Butler MP very interesting.  I agreed with a lot of what Dawn Butler said, but disagreed with other things.  She raises some important points. 

Butler states that, as a young person, she was told by her brothers never to phone the police - if there were a problem or an incident, she should phone her brothers instead.  This reflects many Black people's reality.  She then recounts an incident in which, threatened by a white neighbour, first with a brick and then later with a knife, she calls the police, who turn up and arrest her brother.  And she states, "That is why I was always told never to call the police".

Having said this, when I was threatened with a baseball bat by a (Black) neighbour, I called the police and was impressed by the swiftness of their response.  However, after their initial visit, I heard nothing further.  I eventually wrote to my MP, Harriet Harman, about this, and she helped me, as she has done many times over the years.  After that, the police finally took action, but it was too late as the evidence had disappeared.

I would have expected Dawn Butler to know, and recommend, that we contact our MPs for help if necessary, if the police have not taken appropriate action.  Of course, some MPs are more responsive than others.

And of course, I should not have had to do this in order to get an appropriate response from the police.

Butler also states that people have told her "people say to [her] that racism isn’t as bad in the UK as it is in the US".  I have had Black people say the same thing to me.  This is a stupid and naive response.  Having lived in both countries, I would argue that racism in the two societies is both better and worse in some regards.  Racism and racist attitudes, practices and behaviours in the UK and in the U.S.A. are different and not necessarily able to be compared.  They are like apples and bananas.  But they are also the same.  Racism in both countries, and others, is the fruit of centuries of white supremacist conditioning and racist violence.

The reason so many people, Black, white and members of other races, have taken to the streets daily here in London and the UK is that they know, as we all know, that racism is a problem and is sometimes lethal.  Racist attitudes and actions by the police in this country have been involved with deaths in police custody of Black people including, for example, Joy Gardner, Smiley Culture and Cynthia Jarrett, to name but three, not to mention a whole host of other incidents such as the killing of Stephen Lawrence and the mishandling of it by the police.

We discussed some of this in my radio broadcast, "How Can We Create a Peaceful World?". 

At the moment, two documentaries about institutionalised racism in Britain are available for screening:  Justice for Joy on All 4 and Sitting in Limbo on BBC iplayer.  I watched part of Justice for Joy yesterday morning and Sitting in Limbo yesterday evening. Sitting in Limbo covers the recent "Windrush scandal" caused by the "hostile environment" towards immigrants that began under a Labour government and was fulfilled by successive Tory governments.   It focuses on Anthony Bryan, one man who was threatened with deportation after living here his whole life.  Be warned:  I was even more stressed and upset after watching these two documentaries.  It is a commentary on the current state of affairs that Joy Gardner's family have never achieved justice regarding her death.

And a reminder:  Baroness Lawrence, when she entered the House of Lords, stated that the police in Britain are characterised by institutional racism and institutional corruption.

I have seen white police officers take a knee in recognition of the horrendous slaying of George Floyd.  I have been very moved by this.  But even when they enter the force with good intentions, police trainees are entering a hostile environment with a culture of institutional racism and institutional corruption.

There are examples of big racist incidents in this country, as well as small ones.  As Butler says, we need to call out racism when we see it.  And this will benefit everyone.

We can change things.  Each and every one of us can make a difference.  

Go here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2020.

Go here for more about the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2020 and how you can submit your blog post. 

Stop the Violence, Stop the Killing

Phillip Spruill, 11-Year-Old Boy, Commits Suicide

        

If you have been reading my blog posts, you know that I am passionate about ending the violence.  Ending the violence within the Black community.  Ending the violence within Black families.  Ending the violence against our young people.  Ending the violent acts our young people are committing against themselves and each other.  Ending police violence against members of the Black community.

I want to see an end to all violence experienced by everyone, everywhere all over the world.  And my community - the global Black/African community - is my priority.

Below are some news stories I have seen recently.  You may have seen them, too.  Each and every one of these stories breaks my heart. Bullying is something that blights children's lives.  In some cases, bullying has cost children their lives.  And it can be prevented. 

As you know, if you are familiar with my work, I am very solution-focused.  Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is one highly effective method of PREVENTING violence.  See below for more information about NVC.

Let's end the violence together.

9-Year-Old Girl Commits Suicide after Months of Being Bullied at School. 

11-Year-Old Boy Commits Suicide after Being Bullied about His Weight

11-Year Old Boy on Life Support after Suicide Attempt

Alabama Police Set Up and Falsely Arrested 1000+ Black Men

And now for some good news:  

Black Father Helps Teen Son Build Business - At his son's request, this father dropped a case about racial bullying within the classroom.  Instead, they built a new business.  Well done!

Let's talk solutions!

Nonviolent Communication 9 (NVC) is based on EMPATHY.  Go here for books about NVC and nonviolence. 

Go here for more NVC Resources.

Celebrating Coretta Scott King with Dr. Barbara Reynolds

Dr. Barbara Reynolds of Black Women for Positive Change on Coretta Scott King - mother, organiser, campaigner, and widow of Dr. Martin Luther King.

See also:  "MLK on Why Black Is Beautiful".

Go here for more Black history blogs.

Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.

Young Woman Shot by Cops inside Her Own Home

This 28-year-old Black woman, Atatiana Jefferson, was shot by the police in her own home and died instantly.  A neighbour, James Smith, had reported seeing something, and now the neighbour is blaming himself.  No, it seems to me that the fault lies squarely with the police.  


This is one more reason why we need nonviolence and Nonviolent Communication (NVC).  NVC is changing lives all over the world.  And this is one more reason why I hold the annual Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

CBS News say this is causing "outrage", and of course, it is.  

Jefferson's family are demanding answers.  

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

A Little about NVC and Me

As you will know if you read and listen to my blog posts, I am the founder of the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  We hold the Blogging Carnival every year as part of the Week of Nonviolence with Black Women for Positive Change.  

I am passionate about Nonviolent Communication (NVC).  I have published many blog posts about NVC and interviewed a number of NVC practitioners.  You can read some of my most recent blog posts here. 

I first came across NVC in or around 2003, when I read Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg.  This book really changed my life and changed me as a person.  I subsequently attended several NVC trainings, and now I lead workshops in the community. 

We are experiencing an upsurge of murder and other violence in the UK, and this is touching my neighbourhood in South London, as well as many other places.  Both gun crime and knife crime are on the increase, and this particularly affects our own Black youth.  Obviously, I am very upset about this, and I am sure you are, too. 

NVC is a practical solution.  We can end violence though using NVC skills.  We keep telling each other the situation is terrible, it's awful.  In every conversation I have with people around my local area, and across London, we always say it's terrible, it's horrible.  But that's not enough.  We need to end the violence.  We need to have the skills to do this.  

NVC has had a powerful effect on me as a person.  I blogged about this in Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence, and I shall blog more about this.  But for now, I am blogging about the violence all around us, the bullying in our schools, the violent behaviour of our Black youth.  NVC offers a solution.  It's often about prevention.  And EMPATHY is at the heart of NVC.  Ending violence starts with ourselves - with us, with you and me.  It starts with the inner work we need to do.  

The violence affecting our young people has to stop.  This has to stop.  If you agree, comment "Yes!" below.  And please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

See also:  Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence.  

Six-Year-Old's Encounter with Gun Violence

Merkel Taylor, recovering from head wounds

If you read or follow my blogs, you know that I am committed to nonviolence and Nonviolent Communication (NVC).

Go here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2018.

Markel Taylor, 6, was being driven to football practice by Marlow Parker when he was attacked.

This little boy was shot in the head, which has led to serious long-term issues for him and his brother. They are still living with the aftermath of this horrific incident and the trauma it caused.

Go here to read more.

This case is currently subject to legal proceedings, so not much information is available at this time.  But this is an example of what can happen when we resort to using violence. 

The Week of Nonviolence 2017

Dr, Stephanie Myers

Listen below to find out: 

What is the background to the Week of Nonviolence?  How did it first come about?  

What are the goals of the Week of Nonviolence?  

What events are being planned for the Week of Nonviolence?  How to get involved?  

How does violence affect Black communities and other communities all over the world?  And what can we do to transform the culture of violence?  

I was joined by Dr. Stephanie Myers, Co-Chair of Black Women for Positive Change. 

The Week of Nonviolence was founded by Black Women for Positive Change in 2014 and is in its fourth year. 

Go here for more about the Week of Nonviolence 2017. 

Listen below for more.   Please share this with your networks, and please leave your comments below.  Thanks. 

Children and Knife Crime

Knives Taken from Schoolchildren

Let's talk about solutions.  

In the news today, we learn about the increase in children bringing weapons into school, particularly knives.  

This is in the news now, but it is something I have been very concerned about for some time.  I am particularly concerned about violence within Black communities, but this is something that affects ALL communities.  Listen below for more.  



Click here for my interview with Ike Lasater.  

Click here for more blogs from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

Click here for blogs about how violence affects Black communities. 

Click here for Success Strategies for Black People.  

Youth and Adults Must Work Together to Stop Violence

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Organizing for the Week of Nonviolence in Atlanta

William Kellibrew

Click here for more blog posts from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016. 

The Black Women for Positive Change Atlanta, Georgia Week of Nonviolence focused on bringing awareness to violence prevention. Community members joined together to discuss the impact of violence and identify strategies for supporting a violence-free community.

The goal of the event was to support nonviolence and violence prevention in the Atlanta community.

We held the event at the Adamsville Recreation Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Two moms who have experienced their sons killed, as well as community members, were involved. 12 people attended.

Difficulties we experienced included finding a location, collaborating with local organizations, finding funding, and advertising the event without a huge network.

Having a co-chair was extremely beneficial.

Quality was more important than quantity at this event. Two mothers provided a glimpse into their experiences of losing their sons to violence. The conversation was extremely beneficial and the discussion about violence-prevention provided some relief to attendees and enabled us to look at solutions. It seems like there is commitment to continue next year’s event. 

Next year, we will start organizing earlier and utilize social media to share information about the event.   

 

On July 2, 1984, at age 10, William Kellibrew witnessed the murders of his mother, Jacqueline and 12-year-old-brother, Anthony, by his mom’s ex-boyfriend in their family living room.  The killer took his own life that day, but not before making William beg for his life at gunpoint.  Kellibrew struggled as a child, teen and young adult, but persevered to become a global leader on the issues he faced in his years of struggle including child sexual abuse, witnessing and experiencing violence and homicide as well as a multitude of victimizations and long-lasting effects related to trauma. 

Now, a global advocate for human, civil, children and victims’ rights, Kellibrew travels throughout the world sharing his story of courage and resiliency on the pathway to healing and on-going recovery.  

In 2011, Kellibrew was recognized by the White House as a ‘Champion of Change’ working to end domestic violence and sexual assault.  In 2013, he received the Voice Award from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, CA for his work across the country as a peer/consumer leader.  In 2014, he accepted the Capitol Probe Award at the District of Columbia Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and in 2015 he received the U.S. Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus Eva Murillo Unsung Hero Award.  Kellibrew credits his grandmother, Delores, for being a model for humanity.  Follow Kellibrew on Facebook.com/willkelli and at www.williamkellibrew.com. 

Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence

MLK Faith Is Taking the First Step

Click here for more blog posts from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016. 

I have blogged a lot about the things that affect me – and I am sure they affect you, too. Like the killings of Black people by the police and other authorities.  And The Calais Jungle.  And the history of the Freedom Riders.  And I have blogged about the fact that Black women cancer patients are often denied the care they need. 

For some of my recent blog posts, see the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016. 

As I have asked bloggers to submit blogs that are personal, I want to share with you some of my personal thoughts, feelings and experiences.

As I said in Violence Begins at Home, this work begins with the self. We all want other people to change, but in order to achieve that, we first need to change ourselves.

I use many different personal development methods in my work and in my life. The one method that has affected me the most is Nonviolent Communication (NVC). For more about NVC, see 8 Books about NVC and my interviews with NVC authors.

My biggest problem has probably always been my low self-esteem, which I could also characterize as self-hatred. I taught courses in Building Self-Esteem and Confidence for many years.

The way we talk about ourselves, to ourselves, is a central feature in our self-esteem. We use language that undermines our confidence. We use jackal language (blaming, judging labelling) to ourselves, about ourselves. We learn lessons such as feeling “not good enough” very early in life, and in consequence, we put ourselves down. Often, we learn to put ourselves down before someone else has the chance to do it. I have seen this tendency in myself and in many of my students. I am usually unaware of it – it's a tendency that is unconscious.

When I was doing a lot of NVC, I found that my self-talk changed. The way I talked to myself became more positive. I didn't plan for this or expect it, it just happened.

I have agoraphobia, one symptom of which is that I find it difficullt to cross the street. I have to wait until I feel comfortable, until there is not too much traffic, and so forth. I could be giving myself positive, encouraging messages in this context.

But one day, as I was waiting for the lights to change, I heard a voice in my head saying you're so STUPID!!! Over and over again. I was shocked, but I'm sure these are the types of messages I am giving myself all the time. 

This is just an example of the kind of self-talk that undermines our self-esteem and conidence. When we are harsh with ourselves, we tend to be harsh towards others as well. As Marshall Rosenberg explained in Nonviolent Communication, we can use jackal language towards ourselves or towards others.

When we have jackal thoughts towards ourselves, we tend to project these kinds of thoughts and attitudes towards others. This can, and often does, lead to conflict.

When I became kinder in my self-talk, others saw and commented on how different I was in my interactions with others. I wish I had known about NVC when I was teaching.

I am very keen that more and more of us learn NVC. This will transform our our lives, our worplaces and our communities and will, eventually, transform the world. Transformation begins at home.

Click here for more blogs from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016.

 

Black History Film: Freedom Riders

Bombed Freedom Rides Bus

Click here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2016.  

Have you ever gone into McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC or indeed, any fast food place to buy and eat a meal? I am sure at some point we have all patronised some such establishment, or a café or diner.

Have you ever reflected on the fact that there was a time we were not allowed to enter such places?

The documentary Freedom Riders covers a period in 1961 when people – both Black and white – challenged the laws and customs that forbade Black and white people from mixing or co-mingling. The film contains archive footage as well as interviews with some of the original Freedom Riders.

Freedom Riders, a hard-hitting documentary, depicts when members of CORE – the Commission on Racial Equality – embarked on a journey to test a recent ruling by the Supreme Court which had declared segragation on interstate buses to be unconstitutional. They set out to test whether Federal law was being enforced.

The journey began in Washington, D.C. The Freedom Riders boarded buses to Atlanta, GA, where they met with Martin Luther King. They were excited to meet with him and hoped he would join them. But he cautioned them not to continue their quest, and to use methods that were less confrontational.

At this point, I admit to being confused. While applauding their courage, I do not understand why these young people chose to put themselves in extreme danger rather than finding another, less violent way to address the issue.

The Freedom Riders continued on their way, heading towards Birmingham, AL. One group rode a Greyhound bus (coach), the other used Trailways. The Greyhound never made it to its destination - it was firebombed by a racist mob. The Trailways bus arrived in Birmingham to be greeted by another racist mob. Bull Connor, Birmingham's Chief of Police, had made a deal with the Ku Klux Klan to allow the mob to assault the Freedom Riders for 15 minutes before the police arrived.

Because they were confronted by such extreme force, the Freedom Riders resolved to continue on their journey. They refused to be intimidated into giving up. This much I do understand and, again, applaud.

The Freedom Riders were then joined by fresh troops from Fisk University in Nashville, TN. Each had signed his or her last will and testament before joining the Freedom Rides. As time went on, more and more people joined them.

The film documents the dirty deals that were done, such as the one in Birmingham I mentioned above. At one point, the riders were holed up in the First Baptist Church with MLK, who was on the phone to the then Attorney General Bobby Kennedy. The Kennedies had not taken much notice of the need to enforce Federal law forbidding segregation up until then, and as Julian Bond says, civil rights were “an afterthought” to them. But MLK insisted they take action, and the Freedom Riders captured their attention and that of the nation. The leaders got behind the Freedom Riders and their efforts were reported internationally, shaming America and the values our nation was meant to represent. 

 

The actions of the Freedom Riders, and the support of MLK and other prominent leaders such as the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, led to the Riders securing a high level of protection for part of their journey. This demonstrated that the State and Federal governments could have afforded them that protection from the start. This takes me back to my original question. Why did the Riders not insist on getting government protection before they started out? Or why diid they not use less violent strategies?

Unfortunately, the story did not end there. The Riders suffered more brutal racist violence. In Jackson, Miss, they were sentenced to hard labour at the notorious Parchman State Prison. Again, this was intended to discourage them but had the opposite effect. The prison became one of the stops on the Freedom Rides and over 300 of the riders served time there – under a law that had been declared unconstitutional.

I have to admire the Riders' ingenuity. Nothing and no one was going to stop them. They turned every adversity into an advantage. They even composed a song about the Parchman prison. 

For more about Parchman Prison, see Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice.  

The Freedom Riders' quest was a foolhardy one – in terms of the methods they used - and led to a great deal of suffering which, to my mind, was preventable. However, the courage and determination of these young people spurred the Federal Government to take action and, in the end, led President Kennedy to call for an end to all segregation.

The film draws some very uplifting and inspiring conclusions. People from all over the United States, from different races and religions, and different backgrounds, came together and put their lives on the line to put an end to racial injustice.

I definitely recommend you see this film.

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks. Thanks.