Ed Blankenheim
Encyclopedia
Edward Norval "Ed" Blankenheim (March 16, 1934 - September 26, 2004) was one of the original thirteen freedom riders who rode Greyhound buses in 1961 as part of the US civil rights movement, in an effort to desegregate transit systems.
. He moved with his family to Chicago at age 10. He served in the US Marine Corps in the Korean War
and observed Southern racism
during his time in the Corps.
While studying chemistry at the University of Arizona
, he became involved with the civil rights
movement, and joined the Congress of Racial Equality
. Ed was one of the few white people who participated in local civil rights activities. He started out by becoming involved with Tucson, Arizona
's NAACP
Youth Council and later became a leader for a division of CORE
known as the Students for Equality. In 1961, sixteen civil rights workers boarded buses to test the 1960 Supreme Court
ruling that outlawed segregation in all interstate public facilities. The Freedom Riders
were civil rights activists who traveled on interstate buses into southern United States practicing non-violent protests that challenged the Jim Crow travel laws. The Freedom Riders met violent protests the deeper they traveled south and were almost always greeted with violence. They endured countless violent actions, threats, beatings, and even the risk of death every time they traveled to a new bus station.
During the journey and upon arriving in Anniston, Alabama
an angry anti-segregation mob attacked the Greyhound bus. The mob firebomb
ed the bus, but the passengers managed to escape. The riders were regrouped by the mob and severely beaten. Ed was hit in the face with a tire iron and lost several teeth. Police looked away as the riders were severely beaten by the angry mob. Facing danger, injury, and death Ed managed to survive the attack.
He was interviewed on National Public Radio in 2001 on the 40th anniversary of the freedom rides. That year he rode on a bus to recreate the first freedom ride, but this time was welcomed as a hero, in contrast to the beatings and bus burning of 1961. He and his wife Pam had one son and two daughters.
He died on September 26, 2004.
Biography
Blankenheim was born on March 16, 1934 in Lake Benton, MinnesotaLake Benton, Minnesota
Lake Benton is a city in Lincoln County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 683 at the 2010 census.Lake Benton is also the name of the approximately seven-mile-long lake adjacent to the city of Lake Benton...
. He moved with his family to Chicago at age 10. He served in the US Marine Corps in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and observed Southern racism
Racism in the United States
Racism in the United States has been a major issue since the colonial era and the slave era. Legally sanctioned racism imposed a heavy burden on Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latin Americans...
during his time in the Corps.
While studying chemistry at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, he became involved with the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
movement, and joined the Congress of Racial Equality
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
. Ed was one of the few white people who participated in local civil rights activities. He started out by becoming involved with Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
's NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
Youth Council and later became a leader for a division of CORE
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
known as the Students for Equality. In 1961, sixteen civil rights workers boarded buses to test the 1960 Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
ruling that outlawed segregation in all interstate public facilities. The Freedom Riders
Freedom ride
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decisions Boynton v. Virginia and Morgan v. Virginia...
were civil rights activists who traveled on interstate buses into southern United States practicing non-violent protests that challenged the Jim Crow travel laws. The Freedom Riders met violent protests the deeper they traveled south and were almost always greeted with violence. They endured countless violent actions, threats, beatings, and even the risk of death every time they traveled to a new bus station.
During the journey and upon arriving in Anniston, Alabama
Anniston, Alabama
Anniston is a city in Calhoun County in the state of Alabama, United States.As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 24,276. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 23,741...
an angry anti-segregation mob attacked the Greyhound bus. The mob firebomb
Firebomb
Firebomb may refer to:* Firebombing* Incendiary device* Molotov cocktail* A season 2 episode of the television show Alias* "Fire Bomb", a song by Rihanna from her 2009 album Rated R...
ed the bus, but the passengers managed to escape. The riders were regrouped by the mob and severely beaten. Ed was hit in the face with a tire iron and lost several teeth. Police looked away as the riders were severely beaten by the angry mob. Facing danger, injury, and death Ed managed to survive the attack.
He was interviewed on National Public Radio in 2001 on the 40th anniversary of the freedom rides. That year he rode on a bus to recreate the first freedom ride, but this time was welcomed as a hero, in contrast to the beatings and bus burning of 1961. He and his wife Pam had one son and two daughters.
He died on September 26, 2004.
External links
Arsenault, Raymond. Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. Print. Page 102.- http://articles.sfgate.com/2004-10-03/bay-area/17450098_1_freedom-riders-bus-driver-original-freedom Author: Wyatt Buchanan
- http://articles.latimes.com/2001/may/13/news/mn-63054 4.
- http://books.google.com/books?id=NdQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=Ed+Blankenheim+freedom&source=bl&ots=2oJzMFXGMt&sig=Ui8OfQBcFUsTAvmElyVMWUaTrGI&hl=en&ei=SI-eTYftKI7UgQfakcnbDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CDgQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Ed%20Blankenheim%20freedom&f=false
- http://www.core-online.org/History/freedom%20rides.htm
- http://freedomridersfoundation.org/
- http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Multimedia.jsp?id=m-2479
- http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ms50thfreedomridersreunion.org/wp-content/themes/phoenix/lib/scripts/timthumb.php%3Fsrc%3D/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/burningbusanniston.jpg%26w%3D590%26h%3D330%26zc%3D1%26q%3D70&imgrefurl=http://ms50thfreedomridersreunion.org/&usg=__04HwOmTZq9ueHfYmflpaSzRl2pI=&h=330&w=590&sz=32&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=WGEKob9SmpJ2AM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=188&ei=-o6eTfW3D4m_gQecyenoDw&prev=/images%3Fq%3DEd%2BBlankenheim%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D881%26bih%3D588%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divnsbo&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=542&vpy=252&dur=2118&hovh=168&hovw=300&tx=169&ty=105&oei=-o6eTfW3D4m_gQecyenoDw&page=1&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0 -->