On this day in 1961, 27 Freedom Riders were arrested in Jackson bus station

By On May 24, 2024

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MAY 24, 1961

Credit: Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Twenty-seven Freedom Riders, headed for New Orleans, were arrested as soon as they arrived in the bus station in Jackson, Mississippi. Many of the riders were sentenced to two months inside Mississippi’s worst prison, Parchman.

Within a few months, police arrested more than 400 Freedom Riders. Eric Etheridge features portraits of the Riders (then and now) in his book, “Breach of Peace.” Their journeys are captured in Raymond Arsenault’s book, “Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice,” and Stanley Nelson’s documentary, “Freedom Riders.”

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The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and a winner of more than 30 other national awards, including a $500,000 MacArthur “genius” grant. After working for three decades for the statewide Clarion-Ledger, Mitchell left in 2019 and founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.

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