Community Corner
Thomas Armstrong, a Freedom Rider, to Speak at Glen Ellyn Public Library
The Freedom Riders Exhibit is on display at the library until April 15.
The Glen Ellyn Public Library is hosting the national traveling exhibit Freedom Riders, showcasing the courage and sacrifice of 400 courageous Americans.
Combining powerful photography and news coverage from the time, the exhibit examines the movement from many perspectives — that of the Riders, the Kennedy administration, and the international community. The exhibit will be on display at the library until April 15.
Freedom Riders embarked on a mission to challenge the mores of a racially segregated society by performing a simple act — traveling together in small interracial groups and sitting where they pleased on buses. Demanding unrestricted access to terminal restaurants and waiting rooms, they were met with bitter racism, mob violence, and imprisonment along the way.
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Thomas Armstrong, a native of Silver Creek, Mississippi, was at the forefront of early protests led by black Southerners for voting rights and later became an influential activist in the Freedom Riders movement. Armstrong was a student at Tougaloo College, a historically black college, when he joined in the activism of a small group of colleagues and faculty, led by NAACP leaders.
Armstrong will describe his experiences as a Freedom Rider at Freedom Rider: The Life of a Foot Solider for Civil Rights on Thursday, April 9 at 7:00 PM. His book, Autobiography of a Freedom Rider: My Life as a Foot Soldier for Civil Rights, will be available for sale and signing. Reserve a spot by calling 630-790-6630.
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Dr. Karen Johnson, a 20th Century U.S. race and religion historian and professor at Wheaton College, will broaden the discussion on Tuesday, April 7 at 7:00 PM, when she talks of how Catholic support for the Civil Rights Movement became a reality at Catholics, Race, and the Civil Rights Movement in Chicago. Due to the tireless efforts of people like Dr. Arthur Falls, Catherine de Hueck, and Peggy Roach; Catholic priests, nuns, and laypeople marched for civil rights in the 1960s. Reserve a spot by calling 630-790-6630.
Freedom Riders is a traveling exhibition developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in partnership with AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. Major funding provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
