Freedom Riders

Tuesday, February 23, 2022 10:00 AM

Grades 4-8

Freedom Riders is the newest play from Mad River Theater Works. It explores valiant and courageous personalities behind one of the most critical chapters in the history of the civil rights movement, the freedom riders. The play demonstrates the importance of working together to affect change and specifically how non-violent protest was used to combat the cruelties of segregation. Set in 1961, fifteen years after the United States Supreme Court had outlawed segregation, bus lines and cities throughout the south still enforced a rigid system of separating black and white citizens. Freedom riders, both black and white, mostly young, Americans, decided to travel together on buses that crossed state lines purposefully disregarding the hateful segregation practices that were still commonplace in so many parts of the United States. The unforgettable heroes and the facts behind the events portrayed in Freedom Riders are essential to a full understanding of the civil rights era and American history.

Curriculum Connections – American History, Civics, Government, Social Studies, Drama, Story-telling, Life Skills, Cooperation, Music

Sponsored by a grant from the Tiffin Metal Products Foundation.