Freedom Riders in Springfield

Friday, April 8, 2011
Symphony Hall, Springfield, 6:30 pm

Join us as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Riders and our own civil rights history.
WGBY and The Springfield Public Forum present an advance screening of the new American Experience Film Freedom Riders followed by a conversation with local Freedom Riders Albert Gordon, Jean D. Thompson, Judy Frieze Wright and James Breeden, young activists committed to non-violent change in 1961.  Representative Richard E. Neal will moderate this event.
In addition to the 1961 Freedom Riders, a roll call of individuals who played a role in national and local civil rights history in Springfield will join us and be acknowledged. The roll call will be presented in portraits on the big screen and then combined with short intergenerational interviews to be posted on the WGBY website.
You will have the opportunity to visit with local community organizations in the Symphony Hall lobby who are addressing challenges related to civil rights today.
Please join us as we mark this pivotal moment in history and hear from Freedom Riders who got on the bus in 1961.
Free and Open to the Public!