VISUAL ARTS

ArtsEmerson: The World On Stage presents Freedom Riders. This harrowing documentary recounts the events from May to December 1961, when over 400 black and white citizens bussed through the Deep South in protest of the segregation of travel facilities. Often met with extreme prejudice and mob violence, what seemed to be a simple act caused each protester to lay his or her life on the line to stand up for racial equality. Many were brutally beaten and imprisoned for traveling in this historic ride that challenged a nation. Released in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Rides, this empowering film based on Raymond Arsenault’s book Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice shows the extent the freedom riders were willing to go in order to establish equality for all.