NetGalley Review for Buses Are A Comin’ by Charles Person with Richard Rooker, published by St. Martin’s Press

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this riveting autobiography of a Freedom Rider and civil rights activist.

Charles Person, born in Atlanta, GA in 1943, inspired by the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-1956 and the 1960 lunch counter sit-in’s in Greensboro, NC, dedicated his young life to full citizenship for black Americans. “Our parents in their time of awakening had handled race one way: Life is difficult, but it could be a whole lot worse. Get along. . . . We, the college-aged Negroes of America, believed our time was now. The day was upon us. I was awake and up for the day.” (page 87)

Charles was a brilliant math and science student but was denied entry into Georgia Tech because of the color of his skin. In 1960, he matriculated at Morehouse College, an historical black college in Atlanta. Influenced by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) which was a student-driven organization based on100 percent consensus, giving everyone an equal voice. Charles immediately joined sit-ins at lunch counters, was arrested and even placed in solitary confinement because he sang protest songs too fervently for his racist white jailers' sensibilities.

Interstate transportation had been integrated in 1944 by Irene Morgan (Morgan v Virginia). In 1947 the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) tested the Supreme Court decision by sending riders on interstate buses. With a few exceptions, the ride, known as the Journey of Reconciliation was a success in the northern portion of the South. CORE chose to test it again in 1961 by sending a dozen riders (men and women, black and white, old and young) from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans. Thurgood Marshall said it would be liking leading “sheep to the slaughter.”
Here are those brave Americans:
James Farmer, head of CORE
John Lewis, Hank Thomas Genevieve, Al Bigelow, Ed Blankenheim, Jim Peck, Rev Elton Cox, Jimmy McDonald, Walter Bergman, Frances Bergman, Joe Perkins, Charles Person.

I encourage you to read their story and Charles Person’s. He is a remarkable man, the youngest of the Freedom Riders and a brave American. I believe this could easily become a classic of civil rights nonfiction.
I close with the words of Charles Person:

“Did we belong where we thought we belonged in 1961? Of course, we belonged. Do you belong where you think you belong today? Of course, you belong. But “Do I belong?” is a universal question asked in every generation by those who feel they do not. It is a question resisted by those who think others do not belong. . . . In every era, it takes a bus of change to lead the way to new sense of belonging. Thankfully, a change bus is always a comin’.” (page 563)

It's been well over 50 years since the 1961 Freedom Rides began, perilous journeys involving Black and white, male and female activists who set out from Washington D.C. to find out if America was ready to abide by a recent Supreme Court decision ruling segregation unconstitutional in bus depots, waiting areas, restaurants, and restrooms nationwide.

The answer, they would quickly learn, was "No." Southern states, in particular, would continue to disregard federal law and would often do so through the use of brutal violence.

18-year-old Charles Person was one of the first 13 Freedom Riders, the youngest one during that first trip that was scheduled to go from Washington D.C. to New Orleans but would eventually end in Birmingham, Alabama when one of their two buses was burned to a shell while the other bus was attacked by local Klansmen who'd been assured by the local sheriff that they had 15 minutes before police would arrive. By the time police arrived, the Freedom Riders, including Person, were nearly beaten to death and multiple Freedom Riders sustained life-changing injuries from the relatively brief yet brutal attack.

"Buses Are a Comin': Memoir of a Freedom Rider" is Person's story that he writes alongside Richard Rooker and it's a riveting testimony that jars, disturbs, and refuses to compromise the truths that, sadly, feel just as relevant today.

"Buses Are a Comin'" is written in first-person, an approach that amplifies Person's testimony and gives it all a remarkable sense of urgency. You can practically hear Person speaking the words that he writes, words of youthful enthusiasm and optimism replaced mile-by-mile by the awareness that comes from encountering verbal and physical abuse, relentless name-calling and the growing realization of a world from which his parents had hoped he could be protected.

Of course, such protection would have been impossible. It was made even more impossible by Person's drive to follow the command of his father to "Do Something!," a command given after Person had been denied admission to his college of choice despite meeting all criteria solely because of the color of his skin.

While Charles Person would relent and attend Morehouse College instead, the seeds were planted for a life of doin' something.

If you're anticipating something resembling a textbook accounting of the Freedom Rides, you'd best think again. If you're hoping for something like a greeting card shout of civil rights glee, you'd best think again. "Buses Are a Comin'" is a brutally honest, at times the emphasis is on brutal, testimony of Person's often vile experiences on that first Freedom Ride including the stop in Birmingham that nearly claimed his life along with the lives of those who had joined him.

Person, who had been one of three surviving Freedom Riders from that original trip until Congressman John Lewis recently passed, tells the story in a rather matter-of-fact way. There's certainly no excess drama here because, if we're being honest, the truth is about as dramatic as you can possibly get. That said, "Buses Are a Comin'" also captures the rich human experience that unfolded during the Freedom Ride including the relationships formed, those who provided support, those who risked their lives, and Person's own seeming befuddlement that white folks, in particular, would join in and risk their own lives for equality including one man, who would be left in a wheelchair from the trip, who'd made his fortunes and now made this trip because he wanted every American to have that same opportunity.

While in many ways "Buses Are a Comin'" is almost exactly the book you expect it to be, it's ultimately a far more engaging experience because Person himself is so open and engaging himself. Person has been quoted as saying that "the purpose of a protest is to get people angry" and, in this case, it's perhaps impossible to read "Buses Are a Comin'" without lamenting the hatred that Person and the other Riders encountered and the conflicts, divisions, labels, and hatred that continue to divide us to this day.

An absolute must-read for those engaged in social justice work or who wish to be better informed about the history of racial justice in the U.S., "Buses Are a Comin': Memoir of a Freedom Rider" is an unforgettable reading experience that we truly can't afford to forget if we aspire to a higher vision for America.

I knew about the marches. I knew about the sit-ins. I knew about Rosa Parks. I even knew that there were people before Ms Parks that refused to get off/move seats. But I didn't know there were those, Black and White in almost equal numbers, whose mission was to ride on a bus. In the front of the bus. From Washington DC south. Charles Person was on the very first bus. What they endured is sometimes difficult to read. His memories (aided by notes he took at the time) are clear and he writes almost poetically. And at the end, he still has hope. He has hope that America will live up to what it aspires to be. He does not pretend that it will be easy. He shares what the cost was for many of those first Riders (and subsequent ones). This memoir is one of the best I've read. I'll be recommending it to every person I know.

What a necessary and timely memoir. Charles Person is one of the Freedom Riders from 1961 and this is his story. His memoir is written in a relaxed and inviting tone. It’s easy to follow, get lost in the pages, and feel comfortable with Person. He pulls you into the story. It’s easy to become consumed with his words.

We have an ominous history as it relates to race equality and human rights. It’s something that we clearly are still facing today. Reading this book was painful. It hurts to know this is how people were treated not that long ago. It hurts to see that so much really hasn’t changed. And that’s what makes this book essential.

These are the stories we need to read. These are the stories we need to know. The only way we can grow is by becoming uncomfortable and doing the hard work.

“In every era, it takes a bus of change to lead the way to new senses of belonging. … To reach those aspirations others must board the bus a comin’ for them. The ride will not be easy, but it will be necessary. It always has been. It always will be.” – Charles Person

Written in a conversational tone, Buses Are a Comin’ is a historical, educational, and sometimes disturbing, look at the non-confrontational, peaceful fight for equal rights during the early Civil Rights Movement. The men and women at the center of this account are ordinary people, like you and me, striving to bring about change for the good of their race, for the good of the world. While they are non-violent, and stick to their vow of non-violence against all odds, those who they oppose peacefully don’t hold to the same creed. They torture and beat men and women, young and old alike, mercilessly for no other reason than the color of their skin. This is a well written account of what it was like for an innocent black person to go about their daily life while striving for equality in the Deep South. Horror and beatings awaited them just for their choice of a seat on the bus that should rightfully have been theirs all along. I think now is a good time for everyone to read this book and to realize what it was really like back then when brave heroes stood up, or sat down, peacefully in an effort to bring about change. I am so glad I read this book and I’m thankful to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

Charles Person's riveting account of his being one of the first Freedom Riders in 1961 merits high praise for many reasons. The novel documents first-hand the hatred and brutality met by these "riders," young and old, black and white, who their lives in search of racial equality.
A very young man when he took the ride in 1961, Person "does something," and it shapes his whole life. In this novel, he throws down a gauntlet to young people, yes, but also to anyone of any age now, to "board the bus of change" in support of equality for everyone, no matter the race or the creed, in this country.
This is an important work, perhaps even great. A prediction can easily be made that it will be studied by teachers and used it schools. A masterpiece!

“Buses of change are always a comin’. Here is the story of the bus that I got on”.
Charles Person, along with Richard Rooker share the detailed events of the first Freedom Riders bus trip May 4, 1960 from Washington DC to Birmingham, Alabama.
This is the most emotional book I have ever read. The horror, The hate, The atrocities that have been done to humans because of the color of their skin.
This is the most emotional Book I have ever read . The Courage, The Strength, The Tenacity, The Endurance, The Love.
Reading this book encouraged me to delve even deeper in researching the lives, the stories, the faces of ALL who dared to make a difference without using violence.