Columbus State lecture: Freedom Rider shares civil rights story | Education | Columbus Ledger Enquirer

Only two generations removed from slavery, Charles Person’s grandfather taught family members to defend themselves the best way he knew how: He made sure they could shoot guns well.

While growing up in segregated Atlanta, Person heard his grandfather repeatedly state, “Never again,” and wondered what he meant.

Now, at 71, Person looks back at the different path he chose to resist legalized hatred. Instead of taking up arms as his grandfather prepared him, the 18-year-old Person became the youngest of the original 13 Freedom Riders. He survived beatings and bloodshed on that journey of nonviolent protest 52 years ago. It sparked the desegregation of public transportation and was a seminal victory in the civil rights movement.

via Columbus State lecture: Freedom Rider shares civil rights story | Education | Columbus Ledger Enquirer.