Civil Rights Freedom Rider

“Civil Rights Freedom Rider,” a Batavia Public Library New Lyceum Lecture Series program, will be presented at 7 p.m., December 11, at the library, 10 S. Batavia Ave.

Thomas M. Armstrong III is the guest speaker. Armstrong was one of the first people in Mississippi to join the Freedom Riders in 1961. As a student at historically black Tougaloo College, he and a small group of students and faculty members participated in early protests for voting rights and equal public accommodations. These were demonstrations led by NAACP leaders, such as Medgar Evers, and peopled by ordinary men and women of the South, both black and white.

Shortly after his decision to publicly confront segregation,Armstrong was forced to leave home in fear of his life. Friends and family members didn’t hear from him for decades. He has since broken his silence about his involvement in the early days of the struggle for racial integration in Mississippi, hoping to inspire younger generations to realize the personal power of civic engagement.

Armstrong, along with journalist Natalie Bell, is the author of Autobiography of a Freedom Rider. He is currently a civics education consultant, after working 37 years for the U.S. Postal Service where he was a transportation contracts manager.

The lecture is free; however, registration is required. Register online at www.BataviaPublicLibrary.org or call the library Reference Desk, (630) 879-1393, ext. 200.

The New Lyceum Lecture Series 2017–2018 season is sponsored by the Batavia Public Library Foundation.