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HomeVideoAMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Freedom Riders: The Governor

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Freedom Riders: The Governor

John Patterson, Governor of Alabama from 1958 to 1963, won election as a staunch segregationist. Patterson discusses his response to the Freedom Rides and his decision to refuse a phone call from President John F. Kennedy when the Freedom Riders encountered mob violence in Birmingham. Watch the broadcast premiere of FREEDOM RIDERS on Monday, May 16th, 2011 at 9/8c (check your local PBS listings).