The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE, Norman grantee 1961–1966) launched the Freedom Rides in May 1961, sending interracial groups of primarily college student activists onto interstate buses to challenge the Supreme Court’s ruling in Boynton v. Virginia that segregation in interstate travel was unconstitutional — a ruling that Southern states simply ignored. The riders were met with mob violence in Alabama: a bus was firebombed in Anniston, and riders were beaten at bus stations in Birmingham and Montgomery.

At a moment when few foundations were willing to fund civil rights direct actions, Norman structured its 1961 grant as a $35,000 loan fund that CORE could draw on to bail out arrested riders, cover legal fees, and sustain the ongoing campaign. Norman would add to the CORE fund over the following years, bringing total support to more than $100,000 across the decade. Norman also funded the CORE Scholarship, Educational, and Defense Fund, supporting scholarships for young people engaged in civil rights work and education programs in the Mississippi Delta.

Media:

• Picturing Black History: Freedom Riders in the Congress of Racial Equity (CORE)