"Freedom Riders"

In the movie, "Freedom Riders", I learned a lot.  I picked up a lot of factual information, as well as some moral lessons.  I learned the Freedom Riders were a motivated group of ordinary adults who wanted to fight segregation in the south.  They embarked on a journey on two different buses to Montgomery, Alabama to show the racist people of the south how someday America would be integrated. They rode on buses together, white next to black, and vice versa, to break Jim Crow laws. I learned that it takes courage, strength and motivation to fight for something you believe in. They faced angry mobs of white men and women, and one of the buses was even bombed. In fact, I learned more about all of this in the Youth Town Hall meeting with appearances from a few of the Freedom Riders themselves such as John Lewis and Dianne Nash.

The Youth Town Hall meeting was somewhat interesting.  News stations recorded it, and there was a live feed so students from all across America could ask questions.  I think it was a privilege to actually be sitting in the meeting, in the presence of the Freedom Riders themselves.  I learned that all the Freedom Riders thought it was their non-negotiable duty to fight for civil rights and integration.  They also spoke about how we could express non-violence in our everyday lives.

Since the Freedom Riders strongly believed in non-violence and peaceful protests, they felt the need to spread that word to the youth of today.  They ultimately said that we should always try to resolve our conflicts peacefully, and that we should avoid confronting others in a violent manner.  I can apply this advice to my everyday life because as a child, I face many conflicts and it is good to resolve them in a peaceful way. Also, I think it is always good to fight for what you believe in, as long as it is a worthwhile cause. I think I can relate most to John lewis, because he was talking about courage and fighting for what you believe in, and I have done that in my life before. It was a very interesting and enlightening experience, and I hope that we can have another field trip like this in the near future.