| Pre-Reunion |
November
7th - 8th
Pre-Registration
| Freedom
Riders who arrive early may register and begin their oral histories by inquiring at the front desk of the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
|
| Official Reunion
|
| Thursday, November 8th
|
| 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm | Welcome Reception at the Mississippi Museum of Art
Located two blocks from the Crowne Plaza and Edison Walthall Hotels. Transportation will be available for those in need
of assistance.
(Limited to Freedom Riders, Immediate Family, VIPs and Media)
|
| Friday, November 9th |
| 9:30 am - 1:00 pm | Civil Rights Bus Tour
Stops include visits to the Jackson City Jail, the home of slain civil
rights leader Medgar Evers, and the Old Capitol Museum.
(Limited to Freedom Riders, Immediate Family, VIPS and Media) |
Lunch
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm | Lunch - Freelon's
In the heart of the historic African-American Farish
Street District
(Limited to Freedom Riders, Immediate Family, VIPs and Media) |
| 3:00 pm - 4:00 | Planetarium
News Footage Showing
Visit to Planetarium where news footage of 1961 Freedom Rides will be shown on the ceiling
of the planetarium. Located two blocks from the Crowne Plaza and Edison Walthall Hotels. Transportation available for those
in need of assistance.
(Limited to Freedom Riders, Immediate Family, VIPS and Media) |
| 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm | Return to hotel. Free time. Individual & group oral interviews continue. |
5:15pm - 7:00 pm | Gathering
at the Old Greyhound Bus Depot
Site of Freedom Riders arrests. Bus Depot now the offices of Robert Adams, renowned
state and local architect. Building still retains original façade and fixtures from Bus Depot days. Refreshments served.
Located directly across the street from Crowne Plaza. (Limited to Freedom Riders, Immediate Family, VIPs and Media) |
Dinner
7:00 pm - ? | Dinner - On Your Own
A list of restaurants within walking distance will
be provided. |
| Saturday,
November 10th (Public invited all day) |
| 9:00
am - 10:00 am | Shuttle Service to Tougaloo From Hotels |
Keynote Speeches
10:00 am - 11:30 am | Invocation
Keynote speeches by architects & participants of the Freedom Rides including:
- Reverend
James Bevel (whose strategy of filling the jails with children, with the blessings of Dr. King, helped win civil rights victories
throughout the South)
- Reverend C.T. Vivian (who helped coordinate the Freedom Rides)
- Bob Singleton (Chair of
the Economics Department at UCLA)
- Dr. James Forman (former President of SNCC)
- Dave Dennis (Field Director for
CORE MS Project and Co-Director of COFO)
- Hon. Tom Hayden (former CA State Senator & Albany, GA Freedom Rider -tentative)
- Hon. Bob Filner (US Congressman from San Diego, CA)
- Rabbi Israel Dresner (Tallahassee, FL Freedom Rider)
-
Hon. Carol Ruth Silver (former San Francisco Supervisor; Reunion Chair)
- David Lisker (Reunion Coordinator)
-
Steve McNichols ("The Last Freedom Ride" - Houston, TX)
- Others to be announced
|
Panel Discussions
11:30 - 12:30 | Panel Discussion on the Freedom Rides (panel members to be announced) |
Lunch
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm | Food will be available for purchase at Tougaloo College and nearby |
Workshops
1:30 pm - 2:30 | Workshop A1: Group Oral History - The public is invited to watch the filming
of the oral history of a group of Freedom Riders who served time in the MS State Penitentiary at Parchman Farm. Workshop A2: Step Into My Penny Loafers - Joan Browning shares her memorabilia
and experiences of her time as a Freedom Rider in Albany, GA and leads a discussion among other Freedom Rides on their own
experiences. Workshop A3: Presenting the Freedom Rides in Art and
Video - Jackson performance artist James Green presents a video of a play incorporating real testimony from and about
the Freedom Riders and how it affected local residents in the Jackson. area. Discussion on the Freedom Rides in the arts with
author Steve McNichols of "The Last Freedom Ride" and Judith Reinitz, NY visual artist. |
| 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm | Break |
| Workshops
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm | Workshop B1: Teaching
The Movement - Educators attending the Reunion will share methods and materials for teaching the movement to grades
K-12. Educators are invited to share their ideas. Workshop B2: Women
in the Movement - Joan Browning, Julia Aaron Humbles and other women share their experiences in the Movement. Workshop B3: Where Do We Go From Here? - In a world of increasing uncertainty
and danger, how do we preserve and extend the gains that our sacrifices won? With Carol Ruth Silver and Bob Singleton |
| 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm | Shuttle Service to Hotel |
| 5:30
pm - 6:30 pm | Free Time (Dinner On Your
Own) |
| 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm | Shuttle Service to Tougaloo |
| 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm | Saturday Night Freedom Song Hootenanny. Performers to be announced. Freedom Song lyrics will be
provided. Expect to sing along |
| 9:30 pm -
10:30 pm | Shuttle Service to Hotel |
| Sunday, November 11th
|
| 8:45 am - 9:45 am | Shuttle Service to Tougaloo |
| 9:45 am - 11:15 am | Sunday Morning Ecumenical Religious Service on Tougaloo College Chapel Lawn |
| 11:15 am | Plaque Dedication.
Honoring The Freedom Riders at Tougaloo College by Mayor Harvey Johnson
Jr. and the people of Jackson |
Farewells
11:30
am - 12:30 pm | Reunion Ends.
Shuttle
Service to Hotels
Final oral histories conducted for those staying over in Jackson |
