Journey of Reconciliation

The story of the Civil Rights activists known as Freedom Riders is well-known. But the Freedom Riders’ nonviolent efforts to integrate interstate bus transportation in the era of lawful racial segregation were inspired by the Journey of Reconciliation, a two-week bus trip across the Jim Crow South in 1947. The Journey of Reconciliation was taken by 16 men – eight black, eight white – and the riders were arrested many times, including in Chapel Hill, NC where they were sentenced to serve on a chain gang. Derek Catsam, an associate professor of history at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, joins host Frank Stasio to talk about the legacy of the Journey of Reconciliation and what happened when their bus rolled through the Tar Heel State.