Brooklyn Today: May 4, 2012
Good morning. Today is the 125th day of the year. On this day in 1961, activist students joined James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to conduct “freedom rides” on public transportation from Washington, D.C., across the Deep South. The trips were intended to test Supreme Court decisions and Interstate Commerce Commission regulations prohibiting discrimination in interstate travel. In several places riders were brutally beaten by local people and policemen.
Well-known people who were born today include singer Jackie Jackson of the Jackson Five, country singer Randy Travis and actress Pia Zadora.
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