Freedom Rider Diary

What does one take for a vacation in jail?’ When one’s destination is Mississippi’s infamous Parchman Prison Farm, this is not an idle query. During the summer of 1961, more than 300 Freedom Riders, including 110 women, were incarcerated in Parchman after testing the Supreme Court’s desegregation of interstate travel. Only one of these crusaders for civil equality managed to smuggle a diary out with her: Carol Ruth Silver, a twenty-two-year old Jewish New Yorker willing to put her liberty on the line in the spirit of Tikkun Olam—to heal the world. This vivid primary source allows an uncensored, unromanticized, and humbling view of the lived experience of young civil rights activists as they made the movement one day at a time, and of a foundational moment in what became Silver’s lifelong commitment to social justice and the daily pursuit of a more perfect Union."" - Jane Dailey, University of Chicago

""Getting to know Carol Ruth Silver and other Freedom Riders has been an unforgettable experience. I am so pleased Carol Ruth Silver is sharing the personal diary she kept during that incredibly eventful and traumatic summer of 1961. It is never too late to hear more personal stories of individual acts of heroism. Her diary provides a first-person immediacy, which makes it such a page-turner. It’s also a unique look at the hope and excitement of a young, single woman living in New York, and a window into the mundane yet terrifying unknown of being imprisoned in Mississippi in the 1960s. Her diary shows the bond between her cell mates and what the fiercely focused efforts of average citizens can do: not only did they bring down the ugly signs of Jim Crow segregation, but they also broke down barriers among people of different races and backgrounds to make our country better for all.” — Laurens Grant, producer of Freedom Riders, recipient of a Peabody and three Primetime Emmy Awards

""Carol Ruth Silver, thank you for making history as a Freedom Rider. Your courage and the courage of other Freedom Riders helped change American Society; no exclusions and freedom for all citizens.” —John Taylor, 1961 Freedom Rider

""Carol Ruth Silver’s diary is a unique portrait of individual courage—a powerful story of idealism and hope, a reflection of a generation of young Americans who would no longer tolerate injustice and segregation. Her raw memories are a poignant reminder of a dark era of the past and of the need to continue our national ride to freedom, progress, and opportunity in our time."" - Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives (D–California)