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When the Jackson City Jail became too crowded, Farmer and the other Freedom Riders were moved to the Hinds County Jail. After a week behind bars, the riders heard a frightening rumor from other prisoners. Word was out, said the informants, that Farmer and his friends would soon be taken on an unscheduled leg of their Freedom Ride—to the dreaded Hinds County Prison Farm. Farmer noted that the men’s voices dropped when they mentioned the prison farm; its treatment of black prisoners was notorious, even in Mississippi. “They’re gonna whip yo’ asses out there,” Farmer remembered one man whispering. “Try to break you.” The next day, the Hinds County jailer appeared in front of Farmer’s cell. A cold wave of fear passed though the prisoner; would it be now, he wondered, that he and his friends would be shackled together and sent to the farm? If so, the jailer gave no clue. Instead, he politely asked Farmer how the Freedom Riders were feeling. Well

Until the 1960s, African Americans were segregated from white passengers while traveling on railways and buses in the South. Black passengers were expected to sit at the back of the bus, and were required to use separate waiting rooms, drinking fountains, and bathrooms.

CH A P T E R 1 : P R I S ON E R O F CON S C I E NC E

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