AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Freedom Riders: The Pioneers

In April 1947 sixteen men—eight black and eight white—boarded a bus in Washington, DC to test compliance with a recent Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation on interstate bus travel. Their effort blazed a trail for the Freedom Riders who followed in their footsteps nearly fifteen years later. Watch the broadcast premiere of FREEDOM RIDERS on Monday, May 16th, 2011 at 9/8 c (check your local PBS listings).