Do you know why February is Black History Month?
Abraham Lincoln’s birthday falls on the 12th, and Frederick Douglass’ is on the 14th of the month. There would have been no Emancipation Proclamation created in 1863 had it not been for these two men!
And as history circles back 163 years later, we had six highly motivated students from Putnam County High School and Greene County High School each receiving awards for writing excellent essays on the book Buses Are a-Comin’ by Charles Person, one of the original 1961 Freedom Riders.
These award-winning students represent the inaugural class of the Charles Person Freedom Readers, founded right here in Lake Country.
This year is also the anniversary of the Freedom Riders leaving Washington, D.C. on May 4th … 65 years ago … to bring attention to and help end segregation. Of the seven Black and six white participants on this bus, three became noteworthy Georgians, including: Charles Person, the youngest member of the group at just 18 years old when he left on the bus.
Charles was raised in a two-room tenement with seven family members and thought nothing of it. He chose to join the Marines to fight for the country he loved — but at the time didn’t love him back quite so much. He later explained that’s why he wrote his book: “So history wouldn’t be forgotten.” Sadly, Charles died last year.
Hank Thomas was 19 when he joined the Freedom Ride. He was born into a sharecropper’s family but eventually became a multi-millionaire owning a chain of fast-food establishments and Marriott Hotels. He is left as the only living member of the original Freedom Riders.
John Lewis became the most famous Georgia member of The Freedom Riders after joining the ride at 21 years old. Lewis was also born into a sharecropper family but rose to eventually become a U.S. Congressman representing the State of Georgia for many years.
Each of these men continue to serve as admirable role models for today’s students, even while coming from a very different time in the history of our country. The Freedom Riders were Black and white, young and old, and rallied together to advance the nation, morally, spiritually, and democratically. Isn’t it amazing what can happen when we Americans work together for a common good?
Mr. President, please recognize each of the original 13 Freedom Riders with the Presidential Gold Medal of Freedom by May 4, 2026 — 65 years after they left D.C. with a cause in their hearts.
- Contributed