Freedom Riders
Athletics hosts MLK Day visit to civil rights movement sites; annual trip to be named for David Williams
Jan. 28, 2019—The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day trip, now in its third year, provides members of the Vanderbilt community with the opportunity to learn more about the history of the civil rights movement and current efforts to further King’s legacy.
Chancellor charges students to live out King’s legacy during MLK Day of Service
Jan. 16, 2017—Standing on the dais from which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke, Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos charged college students gathered Saturday at Fisk University to live out the civil rights leader's legacy.
Freedom Rider Jerry Moore featured at Vanderbilt Religion in the Arts event
Feb. 10, 2015—Musician Ivor "Jerry" Moore, one of the original Freedom Riders, will be featured at a Feb. 23 performance event sponsored by Religion in the Arts and Contemporary Culture at Vanderbilt Divinity School.
John Seigenthaler: Champion of the First Amendment
Sep. 26, 2014—John Seigenthaler died July 11 at the age of 86 after a life that saw him serve as special assistant to U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy; suffer a brutal beating by segregationists while attempting to aid 1960s Freedom Riders; become a founding editor of what is now one of the nation’s largest newspapers, USA Today; and win the respect and admiration of generations.
John Seigenthaler on his meeting with Alabama’s Gov. Patterson
Jul. 11, 2014—John Seigenthaler, then-administrative assistant to Attorney General Robert Kennedy, recalls his meeting with Alabama Gov. John Patterson during the Freedom Rides in 1961.
Seigenthaler made Vanderbilt home to First Amendment Center; university gained a legend
Jul. 11, 2014—John Seigenthaler, eminent journalist and civil rights champion, has died.
Actor and activist Danny Glover, candlelight vigil part of MLK celebration at Vanderbilt
Jan. 9, 2014—Danny Glover will headline Vanderbilt University’s MLK Day celebration Monday, Jan. 20, at “An Evening with Danny Glover.” The theme for Vanderbilt’s commemoration is “Do Justice.”
Alumnus publishes portraits of Freedom Riders
Nov. 6, 2013—After finding the original mugshots of the Freedom Riders, Eric Etheridge, BA’79, took on a unique project; he tracked down 328 of the original activists, photographing them again and displaying their current portraits alongside their mugshots. The portraits are collected in Etheridge’s book, “Breach of Peace.” Etheridge recently visited the Freedom Rides Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.
U.S. Congressman John Lewis to speak at Vanderbilt University’s MLK Day commemoration
Jan. 3, 2012—U.S. Congressman and legendary civil rights activist John Lewis will deliver the keynote address Jan. 16 at an event commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Ride for freedom – 50 years later
May. 17, 2011—In 2007, Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff retraced the 1961 Freedom Rides with some of the original Freedom Riders as they traveled to Montgomery and Birmingham, Ala. Among the participants was Congressman John Lewis, Diane Nash, Bernard Lafayette, the Rev. C.T. Vivian, Jim Zwerg, John Seigenthaler and the Rev. James Lawson. More than four decades...
Meet Vanderbilt alumni authors at Heard Library event
Apr. 8, 2011—Early Civil Rights period focus of discussion Eric Etheridge, Charles Euchner and Alex Heard – three Vanderbilt University alumni who have written important books about the early years of the Civil Rights Movement – will return to their alma mater for a discussion and book signing on April 21. “From Jim Crow to the March...