Helen Singleton participated in the Freedom Rides in 1961. She explains that Freedom Riders received education about nonviolence and describes one of her experiences on the bus. The video excerpts come from the documentary The Children Shall Lead (link).
Helen Singleton from Winter Institute on Vimeo.
Her oral history may also be viewed here.
Interview Data:
Name of Interviewee: Helen Singleton
Date: November 8, 2001
Place of Interview: Jackson, MS
| Time | Topics/Names/Events Discussed |
| 0:00-2:00 | Summer, 1961; Los Angeles; UCLA; Santa Monica City College |
| 2:00-4:00 | Philadelphia; family history of experiencing segregation; Virginia |
| 4:00-6:00 | 1954 Brown vs. Board decision; sit-ins |
| 6:00-8:00 | UCLA NAACP; CORE; New Orleans |
| 8:00-10:00 | Disturbing the peace charges; Jackson jails; Parchman Penitentiary |
| 10:00-12:00 | Parchman; New Orleans |
| 12:00-14:00 | Jackson; FBI; arrest; Captain Ray |
| 14:00-16:00 | Jackson City Jail; processing |
| 16:00-18:00 | Jackson City Jail experience |
| 18:00-20:00 | Hinds County Jail; hearing; jail conditions |
| 20:00-22:00 | Parchman |
| 22:00-24:00 | Parchman experience |
| 24:00-26:00 | Parchman experience; Rabbi visits |
| 26:00-28:00 | Parchman food |
| 28:00-30:00 | Food; Rowena Taylor; Parchman experience |
| 30:00-32:00 | Parchman cell; psychological effect |
| 32:00-34:00 | Release; abscessed tooth; Atlanta; Philadelphia; Virginia |
| 34:00-36:00 | Santa Monica City College; return home |
| 36:00-38:00 | Consciousness raising |
| 38:00-40:00 | Freedom song, “We Shall Overcome” |