May. 3, 2011 at 9:59amFreedom Riders

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

Freedom Riders is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives-and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment-for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South.

Filmmaker Stanley Nelson (Wounded Knee, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, The Murder of Emmett Till), along with the original Freedom Riders, will be featured on Oprah Wednesday, May 4th.

Freedom Riders: American Experience premieres on Monday, May 16th at 9:00 PM Pacific on KSPS-TV.