Café Society will meet at Ron’s Barber Shop on Friday, September 9
Thomas M. Armstrong III, a Freedom Rider and author of Just a Foot Soldier, will be our guest speaker.
From Freedom Rider Thomas Armstrong on segregation, progress, and the trauma of war by S.L Wisenberg
“As a student at Tougaloo College, [Thomas] Armstrong got involved in civil rights work. He organized black Mississippians to register to vote, despite threats on his life. And in 1961 he and three other Tougaloo students took part in the Freedom Rides, a campaign to integrate interstate buses. Though they were arrested in a whites-only waiting room before they could even board their Trailways bus to New Orleans, the so-called Tougaloo Four inspired dozens of others to make the dangerous trips.”
Questions for Consideration:
What lessons have you learned from the story of the Freedom Rides? How deep is racism today and what steps can we take to overcome racial inequality? What do you think about non-violence as a protest tactic or a way of life? What issues should a new generation of “Freedom Riders” be organizing around today?
Want to learn more?