Journey of Reconciliation Begins

Date: April 9, 1947 • Location: Washington, United States

Sixteen white and black men began a two-week journey in the American South, acting in defiance of local laws that enforced segregated seating on public buses.

The Journey of Reconciliation, also called "First Freedom Ride", was a form of nonviolent direct action to challenge state segregation laws on interstate buses in the Southern United States. Bayard Rustin and 18 other men and women were the early organizers of the two-week journey that began on April 9, 1947. The participants started their journey in Washington, D.C., traveled as far south as North Carolina, before returning to Washington, D.C.