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From the Los Angeles Times

Remembering the Freedom Rides 50 years later

In 1961, riders black and white headed South to test the region's segregation laws. Things turned violent in Alabama. Fifty years later, cities along the route are marking the rides with exhibit, murals and a new museum.

by Larry Bleiberg, Special to the Los Angeles Times

April 24, 2011

Reporting from Montgomery, Ala.

As the bus leaves Atlanta, Dennis Climpson is eager for conversation. He wants to talk about college football this Sunday morning, but I have a question for him. "Have you ever heard of the Freedom Rides?" I ask.

Fifty years ago next month, a group of 15 passengers travels the same route. Like us, they were blacks and whites sitting together on buses, then a violation of segregation laws. Climpson, 48, says he hasn't heard of the protests, but he's intrigued. As Interstate 20 passes by, he turns to his smartphone to check Wikipedia.

In 1961, Charles Person was 18 and the youngest of the Freedom Riders, who were traveling on two buses to New Orleans from Washington, D.C. The Georgia native still remembers crossing into Alabama that Mother's Day. "There was tension. It was kind of eerie."

Person expected to be harassed and roughed up as the group tested compliance with federal integration laws, but he didn't imagine much worse. "This was broad daylight," he says.

Later that day, members of the Ku Klux Klan would set fire to one bus and beat riders on the other with pipes, chains and bats. Over the next week, the world would watch as the Kennedy administration struggled to protect the protesters.

The racial violence shocked — and changed — America.

Today you can retrace the Freedom Rides easily by car or bus. The Alabama cities on the route are marking the anniversary with murals, exhibits and a new museum. It's a leisurely tour of the Deep South, where you'll find gracious hosts, good food and stark reminders of a not-so-distant past.

Climpson, who is bound for Jackson, Miss., to start a new truck-driving job, can't believe what he's reading on his phone.

"Anniston, Ala.?" he asks, pointing to the screen. "I thought that was a quiet town."

Half a century ago, when the Greyhound bus carrying some of the Freedom Riders pulled into Anniston, in the foothills of the Appalachians, a crowd awaited. Klan members pummeled the vehicle and slashed its tires. It limped away 20 minutes later, and a convoy of cars followed. Six miles later, the bus stopped with a flat.

Bernard Emerson still lives on a hill overlooking the spot, which now bears a historic marker. Someone had tossed burning rags through a smashed bus window. "The smoke was getting pretty thick," he recalls. "One lady was coming out of the window. She got her foot caught, and she was kind of hanging there."

Anniston, a town of 23,000, has only recently acknowledged the incident, commissioning murals and detailed exhibit signs at its former bus stations, two blocks from the current stop. I took a layover for a few hours to look around and eventually found my way to a converted Woolworth's, now a restaurant called Classic on Noble. Its Sunday brunch recalls a Southern country club buffet: more than 100 offerings, including fried green tomatoes, grits, shrimp salad, beef tenderloin and a dessert counter with 26 pies, cobblers and cakes. The after-church crowd is predominately white, but a few black guests feast too.

"We're a nice town," the hostess tells me. "We have a dark past, but we've overcome it."

When the second bus reached Anniston in 1961, a pair of Klansmen boarded and beat the riders, causing permanent brain damage to one. The Klansmen warned them that worse awaited 60 miles down the road in Birmingham.

"They taunted us all the way," Person says. Still, the wounded protesters stuck to their plan; when they arrived, they headed to the white waiting room in the Trailways bus station.

"The walls were surrounded by a group of men," Person recalls. "As we got toward the center, they started coming toward us."

Person, who had been trained to practice Gandhian nonviolence, was immediately set upon. "Everyone had a chance to punch me," he says. His head was bashed with a pipe. Then a news photographer snapped a picture, distracting Person's attackers. "I just walked out of my jacket," he recalls. "I did not run. I was still under control."

He stepped outside and boarded a city bus. The first Freedom Rides had ended, and Person had escaped with his life.

Birmingham's Trailways station is gone, replaced by a Wells Fargo bank branch and a historic marker. It's one of many civil rights sites in the state's largest city. Visitors also come for the city's music scene, which has produced a handful of "American Idol" finalists, and its restaurants, which regularly garner James Beard Foundation Award nominations.

Buses today arrive a few blocks from the city's designated Civil Rights District. In Kelly Ingram Park, statues of snarling police dogs and water cannons recall the city's violent struggles. The routes of protest marches are now walking tours, marked by signs throughout downtown.

At the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, exhibits and newsreels bring the Freedom Riders' story to life. There's also the cell where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his "Letter From Birmingham Jail," outlining his rationale for nonviolent protest. A museum window overlooks the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where four girls attending Sunday school died in a 1963 bomb blast. It too is open for tours.

After the Mother's Day violence, a group of students in Nashville vowed to continue the Freedom Rides. "I didn't have any kind of fear," recalls Catherine Burks-Brooks, then a senior at Tennessee State University. "We felt it should go on."

The protesters headed 200 miles south to Birmingham and were immediately jailed. After midnight, they were packed into a funeral home limousine for what they were told would be a trip home. The Birmingham native found herself sitting next to Eugene "Bull" Connor, the city's notorious public safety commissioner. She chatted on the ride, at one point offering to make him breakfast when they got home.

Instead, he dumped the students in a small town on the Tennessee line in the middle of the night.

Burks-Brooks would not let Connor have the last word.

"Back then, we watched a lot of cowboy movies," she recalls. "I told him I would meet him back in Birmingham by high noon." It was 3 p.m. when she and her classmates returned by car to the city, taking back roads so they wouldn't be stopped again.

After rendezvousing with other Freedom Riders, the group of by-now 22 students made its way to the Greyhound bus station, where an overnight standoff followed. Klan members dressed in robes patrolled the station, but this time police kept order. Still, no driver would take the students' bus to the next stop, the state capital of Montgomery. After hours of negotiation, it was agreed that Alabama state troopers would ensure the protesters' safety.

As the bus left Birmingham, it was surrounded by a convoy of police cars. A helicopter followed.

"I was feeling secure. I dozed off," Burks-Brooks says.

On another morning this spring, I find myself in the same bus station to make the same trip. That's where I meet accountant Julius Parker, 31, who tells me that he's heard of the Freedom Rides; his grandparents marched in the '60s. But the Alabama native says the story baffles him. "To know the risk and go through with it anyway?" he asks. "I could not think with the last thought in my mind that I could do that."

The two-hour ride to Montgomery passes quickly today, and like the riders half a century ago, I am lulled to sleep.

"Everything was quiet," Burks-Brooks says. "It was almost like in a dream, rolling into Montgomery and not seeing anyone."

When the bus reached the station, the riders stepped out onto the pavement.

"All of a sudden, these people appeared," she says. "It looked like thousands. One thing that just stands out in my mind was to see those white women, some with babies in their arms, screaming at us."

Men smashed soda crates across riders' heads and tried to push a jagged pipe into one protester's ear. That's when the head of the Alabama state police, who had vowed to protect the riders, arrived. Furious that Montgomery's police had betrayed him, he pulled out a gun and fired two shots in the air. The crowd drifted away.

Montgomery, like Birmingham, has developed civil rights sites for visitors. The former Greyhound station will open as a museum and welcome center in May. A few blocks away, the Rosa Parks Museum honors another famous bus rider.

Visitors can also tour the First Baptist Church where riders donned robes and hid in the choir balcony during a protest rally. Outside, several thousand whites gathered and threatened to burn down the building, by then packed with more than 1,000 African Americans.

"I don't think anyone knew what was going to happen," says Pastor E. Baxter Morris, who often shows visitors around the 144-year-old sanctuary.

One former Montgomery resident, King, spent much of the evening in the pastor's study on a long series of phone calls with then-U.S. Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy. King was pressing for protection, which eventually led Alabama's governor to reluctantly mobilize the National Guard.

Over the next few days, the students remained hidden in the home of a prominent black pharmacist. Although they were fighting for equality, the female riders washed and ironed everyone's clothes. Vera McGill Harris, the pharmacist's wife, now 88, remembers the group as well-mannered. "They knew how to behave themselves," she says. "There was not any hanky-panky."

Although the Harris house isn't open to the public, it's designated by a historic marker. You'll find it three houses down from another Montgomery tourist attraction, the parsonage where King and his family once lived.

The modest home, decorated as it was in the '50s, was bombed with King's wife and infant daughter inside. In the kitchen, visitors find a table where, years before the rides, King questioned his resolve.

Perhaps it's a testimony to the movement King helped inspire that 50 years later, Climpson is astounded when he discovers how his bus trip to Mississippi is retracing history.

"I can't think that it happened," he says, still reading about the rides. "You would never believe people would do people like that."

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-freedomriders-20110424,0,308309,print.story

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Congresswoman calls for investigation of enforcement program that screens for illegal immigrants in jails

A California congresswoman Friday called for an investigation into the actions of federal immigration officials, saying they lied about whether counties and states had the right to opt out of a controversial nationwide enforcement program that screens for illegal immigrants in local jails.

"It is inescapable that the [Department of Homeland Security] was not honest with the local governments or with me" about whether local jurisdictions must participate, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose). "You can't have a government department essentially lying to local government and to members of Congress. This is not OK."

The so-called Secure Communities program, launched in 2008, was promoted to local and state leaders as a way to focus enforcement efforts on "serious convicted criminals." But the program, which uses fingerprint data, has come under fire because it has ensnared a high proportion of immigrants who were arrested but never charged with a crime or who have been charged with minor infractions.

Critics say it discourages illegal immigrants from reporting crimes and opens the door to racial profiling.

Federal officials initially told them they could do so, an assertion repeated by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Assistant Atty. Gen. Ronald Weich in September letters to Lofgren.

But internal correspondence recently released to immigrant and civil rights groups in response to Freedom of Information Act litigation reveals that ICE officials had long known that the program was not voluntary.

A month after Lofgren received the letters, Napolitano held a news conference to clarify that local officials had no say in the program.

Lofgren, whose legal staff spent a week reviewing the internal documents, said she will seek a probe of whether Napolitano or ICE Director John Morton were aware of the strategy.

"It's unacceptable and if she knew about it, something has to be done about her, and, if she didn't, she has to do something about those who did," Lofgren said. "Clearly the people in the department were dissembling and deceiving."

A Department of Homeland Security official said in a statement that "Secure Communities is not voluntary and never has been. Unfortunately, this was not communicated as clearly as it should have been to state and local jurisdictions by ICE when the program began. Thanks to outreach with local jurisdictions and members of Congress, we have since made the parameters of the program clear to all stakeholders involved."

Lofgren also questioned the legal authority for implementing the program, which by 2013 will effectively involve all local jails in immigration enforcement. The rollout began in 2008 and 1,211 jurisdictions in 41 states now participate. States have always shared local fingerprint data with the FBI, which conducts criminal background checks.

Under Secure Communities, the FBI now shares that data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security's investigative arm.

An ICE spokesman said the program does not require local or state approval, since it is "fundamentally an information sharing program between federal partners."

But officials sought for nearly two years to cajole local jurisdictions to support the program -– before telling them they had no choice but to participate.

ICE also has signed "memorandums of agreement" with states that currently forward local fingerprint data to the FBI. Homeland Security officials now say those agreements are merely educational and that fingerprints from all jails will be forwarded by the FBI to ICE by 2013.

Santa Clara County's Board of Supervisors voted unanimously not to participate before being told they had no choice. San Francisco's sheriff also sought unsuccessfully to opt out. They oppose the program because they contend it erodes community policing efforts by ensnaring all undocumented immigrants booked into jail –- regardless of the severity of the crime.

Recently released data show that half of the immigration holds issued since the inception of the Secure Communities program have been for non-criminals or those charged with misdemeanors -- not the violent criminals the program has purported to prioritize

Lofgren said Friday that if communities had known from the beginning that they had no choice in the matter, they probably would have fought the program in court. But the repeated assertions -– which continued through October -– that locals had a mechanism for opting out deceived them.

"Had they been honest to begin with, the localities that feel strongly about this would have challenged their legal authority early on," she said. "They tried to play by the rules. Unfortunately they didn't realize that the department was not on the level."

Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, among the groups that sued in federal court to obtain Secure Communities data and correspondence, said he was "grateful for the congresswoman's attempt to get to the bottom of this" and called on the Obama administration to freeze the program pending further study.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/congresswoman-calls-for-investigation-of-enforcement-program-that-screens-for-illegal-immigrants-in-.html#more

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Long Beach teen arrested in connection with threats against 4 classmates via Facebook

A Long Beach high school student was facing charges Friday in connection with threats against four classmates through a fictitious Facebook account, authorities said.

The 17-year-old boy allegedly set up a Facebook profile under a fake name and then used it to send threatening messages to four students at Millikan High School, said Sgt. Rico Fernandez of the Long Beach Police Department.

“Posting a threat online is no different than making a threat face-to-face,” Fernandez said.

The male student was arrested Thursday morning at his home in Long Beach. He also faces charges of obstruction of justice in connection with false information provided to police in an initial interview, Fernandez said.

He was later released to his parents' custody. A preliminary investigation began last week when one of the alleged victims contacted police. Fernandez said he could not discuss the nature of the messages nor the teen's possible motive.

“The messages were pretty graphic, but I can't get into specifics,” he said.

Detectives were still working to review the suspect's “current and fake” Facebook profiles, he said.

When the investigation is completed, it will be submitted to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office to determine whether to file formal charges.

Fernandez said the department wanted to caution teenagers on the dangers of using social networking websites inappropriately.

He urged Facebook users not to accept "Friend" requests from people they do not know.

“You give them access to everything, your photos and all your information,” he said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/long-beach-teen-arrested-for-allegedy-threatening-four-classmates-via-facebook.html

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From the New York Times

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Pastor Is Jailed in Michigan Over Planned March at Mosque

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — A Florida pastor at the center of a Koran-burning controversy was jailed briefly for refusing to pay what the authorities called a “peace bond” for a planned demonstration outside a mosque.

The pastor, Terry Jones, whose remarks against Muslims have inflamed anti-Western sentiment in Afghanistan, said he refused to pay the $1 bond because doing so would violate his freedom of speech. He was released from jail hours later after paying the $1.

Mr. Jones had planned a demonstration Friday outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the nation. Prosecutors worried that the protest would lead to violence, and asked Judge Mark Somers of 19th District Court in Dearborn to intervene. Judge Somers conducted a one-day jury trial to determine whether Mr. Jones posed a threat to peace. The jury concluded that he did, and the judge then ordered Mr. Jones and an associate to post the bond to cover the cost of police protection.

The bond also prohibited Mr. Jones from going to the mosque or the adjacent property for three years.

Robert Sedler, a constitutional law professor at Wayne State University, said the United States Supreme Court has ruled that it is the police's job to protect speakers at such events and said it is unconstitutional to require protesters to post a bond for police protection.

A Koran burning in March at Mr. Jones's church in Gainesville, Fla., caused protests in Afghanistan that killed more than a dozen people. The Wayne County prosecutor, Kym Worthy, said fears that Mr. Jones could incite violent counterprotests led them to court.

Mr. Jones represented himself and told the jury that the mosque, one of the largest in the country, was chosen because his protest was against “a radical element of Islam.”

“All we want to do is walk, demonstrate, protest on an area that already belongs to you, to the city,” he said. “We are not accusing this mosque. We are not accusing the people of Dearborn. We are not accusing all Muslims.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/us/23pastor.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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From ICE

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22 arrested in Chicago area during ICE operation targeting gang members

CHICAGO - Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in close partnership with local law enforcement, arrested 22 men during a five-day operation this week. This is the latest local effort in an ongoing national ICE initiative to target transnational gang members.

The arrests were made as part of Operation Community Shield, a national initiative whereby ICE partners with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target the significant public safety threat posed by transnational street gangs. Partnerships with local law enforcement agencies are essential to the success of Operation Community Shield.

The multi-agency operation began April 17. Arrests were made in the following Illinois communities: Bolingbrook, Glendale Heights, Joliet and Melrose Park. All 22 men are documented members or associates of the following transnational street gangs: Vice Lords, Latin Kings, Latin P-Stones, Two-Sixers, and Sureño 13s.

All of those arrested have criminal histories that include arrests or convictions for a wide range of crimes committed in the United States. Some of their crimes include: aggravated battery to a peace officer, armed robbery, burglary, criminal damage to property, domestic battery, drunken driving, mob action, possessing marijuana with intent to deliver, residential burglary, unlawfully possessing a weapon by a felon, and unlawfully using a weapon.

Eighteen of the 22 gang members arrested are from Mexico, two are from Guatemala, and one is from Ghana. They range in age from 18 to 40. Two were previously deported to Mexico, of which one may face criminal prosecution for illegally re-entering the United States after being deported. They remain in ICE custody on administrative immigration charges pending deportation. In accordance with privacy policies, ICE does not release the names of those arrested on administrative immigration charges.

"Violent street gangs account for a burgeoning amount of crime in Chicago and our surrounding communities," said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Chicago. "ICE works in tandem with our local law enforcement partners to identify these gang members and remove them from the streets in the name of public safety."

ICE was assisted in the operation by the following Illinois police departments: Joliet, Aurora, Bolingbrook, Glendale Heights, Melrose Park, and Montgomery.

Since Operation Community Shield began in 2005, ICE HSI special agents nationwide have arrested more than 20,000 gang members and associates linked to more than 900 different gangs. As part of this effort, HSI's National Gang Unit identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations. Transnational street gangs have significant numbers of foreign-born members and are frequently involved in human and contraband smuggling, immigration violations and other crimes with a connection to the border.

To report suspicious activity, call ICE's 24-hour toll-free hotline at: 1-866-347-2423 or visit www.ice.gov .

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1104/110422chicago.htm

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