University of Mary Washington senior Charles S. Reed Jr. is the sole Virginia student\u2014and one of only 40 U.S. college students\u2014chosen through a nationwide competition to retrace the historic route of the original 1961 Freedom Rides that challenged segregated bus travel in the South.<\/p>\n
Reed and others selected for the 2011 Student Freedom Ride will join original Freedom Riders aboard the PBS \u201cAmerican Experience\u201d bus for the May 6-16 trip from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans. The bus will stop at University of Mary Washington on Sunday, May 8 during a 10-day journey coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Rides that defied segregated bus transportation throughout the Deep South. The selection of Reed and other students was announced April 7 by PBS\u2019s \u201cAmerican Experience\u201d series.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am extremely excited. The Student Freedom Ride means a great deal to me because I am committed to diversity and social justice,\u201d Reed said. \u201cCivil rights pioneers, specifically James Farmer and the Freedom Riders, had to overcome many challenges while advocating for equal rights. They played an enormous role in dignifying the African American race, and the 2011 Student Freedom Ride is one way to acknowledge them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The announcement of Reed\u2019s selection for the 2011 ride comes amid the university\u2019s three-month commemoration of the 1961 Freedom Rides and the late civil rights pioneer James L. Farmer, Jr., who organized the protests and later taught the history of the civil rights movement at Mary Washington.<\/p>\n
Students were chosen from nearly 1,000 applicants for the 2011 ride to represent a diverse cross-section of America, much like the original Freedom Riders, who were black and white, men and women\u2014mostly students\u2014who risked their lives to challenge segregation.<\/p>\n
The 2011 student riders were selected based on essays about why they wanted to participate, their thoughts on social media and technology\u2019s role in civic engagement today and their extracurricular activities.<\/p>\n
Reed, a business administration major from Jersey City, N.J., is president of the university\u2019s Black Student Association, vice president of Brothers of a New Direction and a longtime student aide and volunteer at UMW\u2019s James Farmer Multicultural Center. He is treasurer of the Finance Committee, serves on several other committees and has participated in various campus groups, causes and community service activities.<\/p>\n
Reed received the university\u2019s 2011 Citizenship Award for Diversity, which the President’s Community Advisory Committee on Diversity presents to a senior possessing strong leadership characteristics and demonstrating a personal commitment to advocating for campus diversity and inclusion. As the award recipient, he serves as an ambassador for diversity, a peer mentor to underrepresented students and a voice for underrepresented populations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is my hope that the 2011 Student Freedom Ride will help others gain a perspective on how issues of diversity, civil rights, and social justice can be strengthened and maintained in today\u2019s society,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n
During a recent radio interview, Reed described the personal impact of a freshman course he took on Farmer\u2019s life and legacy, saying the class deepened his passion for addressing diverse issues and exploring different cultural perspectives. He was featured in an independent documentary about Farmer\u2019s life and career. Reed co-authored the article \u201cLay Bare the Legacy\u201d with Timothy O\u2019Donnell, associate professor of communication. O\u2019Donnell said Reed \u201cis the kind of student that makes me happy I chose this profession.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is the son of Charles Reed Sr. of Jersey City, N.J., and Kathy Scruggs-Reed of Fredericksburg, Va., and is a 2007 graduate of Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School.<\/p>\n
The student riders hail from 33 states and the District of Columbia, along with others who grew up in China, Tajikistan and Haiti. Students represent a broad range of schools\u2014state universities, community and junior colleges, religiously affiliated institutions and Ivy League schools.<\/p>\n
With the PBS \u201cAmerican Experience\u201d bus serving as a moving classroom, the 2011 ride will provide an experiential learning opportunity for the students as they hear the memories of original Freedom Riders and meet with today\u2019s leaders in civic engagement.<\/p>\n
According to the PBS \u201cAmerican Experience\u201d announcement, the ride also will serve as a means of launching a national conversation about the role of civic engagement in a thriving democracy, explore what issues inspire students to \u201cget on the bus\u201d today, and look at what forms civic engagement is taking on campuses and in communities across the country.<\/p>\n
From May to December of 1961, 436 Freedom Riders took part in more than 60 bus rides to test segregated interstate buses and bus terminals, meeting mob violence with nonviolent tactics, eventually spurring the Kennedy administration to action. Director Stanley Nelson captured the ordeal in the acclaimed film \u201cFreedom Riders\u201d scheduled for broadcast May 16 on the PBS \u201cAmerican Experience\u201d series.<\/p>\n
In a recent interview on WVFA, Reed said he greatly admires the courage of the Freedom Riders who risked their lives, saying he would have \u201cgotten on the bus\u201d nervously: \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt in my mind that the opportunity is there to stand up for social justice, so why not be a part of that experience and if it\u2019s something that you truly, deeply do care about and believe in then you should definitely be able to get on the bus.\u201d<\/p>\n