Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail
In 1961, Freedom Rides spread across the South to place pressure on
local communities and the federal government to implement court-ordered
desegregation of bus terminal facilities. Little Rock’s first
Freedom Riders, a contingent of five members of the St. Louis branch of
the Congress of Racial Equality, arrived on the evening of July 10 at
the Mid-West Trailways bus station at Markham and Louisiana. A plaque
there marks the site and tells the story of the Little Rock Freedom
Rides.
The pressure exerted by the Freedom Rides, together with an Interstate
Commerce Commission order to desegregate, led to the integration of all
Little Rock’s bus terminals on November 1, 1961.
Five markers also commemorate Philander Smith College students involved
in sit-in demonstrations between 1960 and 1962, as well as members of
the Arkansas Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee. SNCC
(pronounced “snick”) was active in Arkansas from
1962 to 1967.
Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail
Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail201 W Markham St
Little Rock, Arkansas 72202