Panel Event: A Conversation with the Freedom Riders

Save the date for a unique panel discussion on the 1961 Freedom Rides, featuring Hezekiah Watkins, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, Loki Mulholland, and Dr. Linda Reed. Watkins and Mulholland participated in the Freedom Rides themselves and will be speaking on their experiences working within the Civil Rights movement. Also participating on the panel are Loki Mulholland, a filmmaker, activist, and Executive Director of the Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation, and Dr. Linda Reed, UH professor and former director of the African American Studies program. Both Mulholland and Reed have produced an extensive catalogue of works meant to educate the public on the Civil Rights movement.

Our Panelists:

Hezekiah Watkins is most known for being "Mississippi's Youngest Freedom Rider," having participated in the demonstration when he was only thirteen years old. Subsequently arrested for his involvement (a so-called 'Breach of Peace') at the Greyhound Bus Station in Jackson, Mississippi, he was sent to Parchmen Penitentiary, where he was placed on Death Row. Upon his release, he was officially recruited into the Civil Rights Movement by James Bevel, where he would end up being arrested over 109 times in demonstrations, protests and marches in pursuit of equal rights and justice, and worked alongside some of the Movements’ iconic leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Watkins has since published his experiences in Pushing Forward, a memoir co-authored by UH's own Andrea Ledwell. Sixty years after his arrest, Watkins was given an official apology from the city of Jackson in acknowledgment of the injustice he endured as a child. Watkins continues to dedicate his life to pursuing justice and remaining active as an educator with the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, where he continues to teach the importance of learning from history and to share his story with all who visit.

Joan Trumpauer Mulholland was and is a committed Civil Rights activist, who, by the time she was 23, had participated in more than 50 sit-ins and demonstrations, including the Freedom Rides, the Jackson Woolworth's Sit-In, the March on Washington, the Meredith March, and the Selma to Montgomery March. After being arrested for her involvement in the Freedom Rides, her mugshot became one of the most iconic in American history. Her path has crossed with some of the biggest names in the Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, John Lewis, Diane Nash, and Julian Bond to name a few. She has also been a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. since 1963. In more recent years, she has appeared in several books including Get Back to the Counter, Coming of Age in Mississippi, Breach of Peace, and We Shall Not Be Moved. She also appeared on television, news, and documentary programming, including PBS projects such as "Freedom Riders," "Standing on My Sister's Shoulders," and "Eyes on the Prize."

Loki Mulholland is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, author, activist, and son of civil rights icon, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland. His work has received over 40 Telly Awards and his films on race and social justice issues have won over 20 Best Documentary awards. Loki is the author of multiple books including She Stood for Freedom and Get Back to the Counter. His films have appeared on Showtime, PBS and Amazon where The Uncomfortable Truth has been viewed over three million times. Loki is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and speaks all over the country on issues of race and social justice. In 2023, Loki received an Honorary Doctorate from Ithaca College. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation which was created to teach others about the Civil Rights Movement and how they can make a difference.

Dr. Linda Reed is an associate professor of African American history at the University of Houston, with an interest in women and the South. She served nine years as the director of UH's African American Studies Program. From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Reed was the National Director for the Association of Black Women Historians. She received her Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington, and has since authored Simple Decency and Common Sense: The Southern Conference Movement, 1938-1963 and co-edited "We Specialize in the Wholly Impossible": A Reader in Black Women's History, both award winning books. Other publications include "The Brown Decision: Its Long Anticipation and Lasting Influence," "Fannie Lou Hamer: New Ideas for the Civil Rights Movement and American Democracy," and "Fannie Lou Hamer: A Mississippi Voice for American Democracy." She is currently working on her manuscript, "I'm Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired: The Life and Times of Fannie Lou Hamer."

The Freedom Rides:

From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives—and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws in order to test and challenge the now-illegal, segregated practices within the interstate travel system, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism. Learn more: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/freedomriders/

WHEN: November 3rd, 5:30-8:00 PM
WHERE: CEMO Hall Auditorium (CEMO 100D), 4246 Martin Luther King Blvd, Houston, TX 77204

Visitors coming from off campus are encouraged to park in either the Elgin Street Garage or the Stadium Garage.

1) Elgin Street Garage: 4224 Elgin Street

2) Stadium Garage: 3874 Holman Street