JACKSON, Miss. (AP) _ Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has unveiled a marker at the site of the former Greyhound bus station, where hundreds of Freedom Riders were arrested in 1961 while challenging segregated interstate travel.
The unveiling Tuesday was part of several activities planned this week as the activists celebrate the 50th anniversary of the protest. During an eight-month period in 1961, more than 400 blacks and whites traveled on the buses into the South. Some of the buses were burned or attacked by mobs. Many riders were beaten and jailed, but none died.
Barbour says the marker will let young people learn about the history of the civil rights movement.
Hank Thomas, the chairman of the reunion committee, says about 100 riders are in Jackson this week.
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