movement. King encouraged SNCC's creation, but the most important advisor to the students was Ella Baker who believed that the SNCC should not be part of the SCLC but a separate, independent organization run by the students. She also believed that civil rights activities should be based in individual black communities. SNCC adopted Baker's approach and focused on making changes in local communities and not big, national change. This differed from the SCLC, which concentrated on making a national impact. Because the two groups differed in their goals, they occasionally came into conflict with one another.After the sit-ins, some of the SNCC members participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides. The Freedom Riders consisted both black and white people. The Freedom Riders would hop on buses in the South and test them to make sure that there was no racism or segration. The Freedom Rides started in Washington, D.C. Their rides were relatively peaceful until they reached Alabama, where those darn Alabamians started violence. In three different cities in Alabama riders were beaten by angry mobs and one bus was even burned.This violence brought national attention to the Freedom Riders and the Alabama officials were reprimanded for allowing this violence to take place. The administration of President John Kennedy stepped in to protect the Freedom Riders because Alabama police would not guarantee safe travel. Finally the riders were arrested in Jackson, Mississippi and their rides ended. The Freedom Rides did result in the desegregation of some bus stations. The most important result of these rides was that they demonstrated just how far civil rights workers would go to achieve their goals.The SCLC The greatest contribution of the SCLC was their protests in racist Southern cities. These protests were intended to create such public disorder that the local government would end segregation in order to restore normal business activity. The demonst...
