Today in history, May 4th, 1961, the Civil Rights movement… despite facing violence, a diverse group of young adults, aka Freedom Riders, leaves Washington DC for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and at bus terminals.

A new 2-hour documentary that chronicles 18 days of the courage and determination of these Riders, from award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, titled Freedom Riders, based on Raymond Arsenault’s book Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice, will premiere on PBS, on May 16th.

In the meantime, today, May 4th, director Stanley Nelson, and nearly two hundred Freedom Riders will appear on a special episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show.

For more information on the film, go to firelightmedia.tv/project/freedom-riders/ where you will have an opportunity to win a Freedom Riders DVD.

Watch a preview below:

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.