Letter from a Freedom Rider's Father
This was a really interesting letter from John Dolan, a Freedom Rider's father. The Freedom Ride was an interracial bus ride to desegregate blacks into the South. It was really different that Dolan's father was actually the one that discourages his son to be a participant. In fact, not only does his father not approve of this, he also felts disappointment for his son. Dolan's father expressed "presumably as a parent, I have miserably failed." I was so surprised when I read that. Although I understand why his father would feel like being in this ride would be putting in immediate danger and shutting his son's chances of finding a good job in the future, Dolan's decision to ride was incredibly brave. Surprisingly the only ones that supported Dolan's decision were his friends in college, "[his] father disinherited [him] and [his] mother was worried for [his]safety." In relation to the college students today to the students during the Civil Rights Movement, most of us(from what I know) are actually distancing ourselves away from politics and riots rather than leaving home for something so political. Many times we do not take the time to even vote or look at the current events, let alone take part in a nonviolent demonstration that can lead to jail time.
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