Whitewater High hosts family of Freedom Rider

As the nation commemorates the 65th anniversary of the Freedom Rides, Whitewater High students can look back to a visit from the family one of the original Riders earlier this semester.

Freedom Riders were activists who boarded buses and road through southern states in protest of the unconstitutional segregation of public buses. The first Freedom Ride left Washington, D.C. in early May 1961. They were met with violent resistance at many stops, including beatings and burning of buses, and in some cities the local police cooperated with those attacked the Riders.

Charles Person was the youngest of the Riders. He passed in 2025, and now JoEtta and Keisha Person, his wife and daughter, carry on his legacy by sharing his story.

“If he was alive today, he would be right here telling his story,” JoEtta told the students gathered in the Whitewater High media center.

Charles was a freshman at Morehouse College when he became an active participant in the Civil Rights movement. He took part in sit-ins at segregated restaurants in Atlanta before joining up with the Freedom Ride.

At one stop on the Ride, he was badly beaten and suffered injuries that affected him the rest of his life. A quick bandage was all the help he received, and the drainage from his wounds left him with a big knot on his head that he didn’t have removed until 1996 because he was afraid it could trigger other untreated issues.

“Nobody would treat him, not even the blacks, because they were afraid they would lose their license,” said his wife.

In spite of all the hatred he faced, Charles did not hold any animosity towards those that hurt him.

“He said many times I would like to sit down and have a Coke or a cup of coffee and ask them ‘Why did you want to bother me? I was just trying to get what was justifiably mine,’” said JoEtta. 

There was a touching moment at the 60th anniversary gathering. A lady came up to Charles and said her father had participated in the violence, and she apologized for his actions.

“It was a warm feeling for Charles that someone came and apologized.”

He kept his story to himself for about 35 years. It wasn’t until a visit to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute that he started to open up. JoEtta didn’t even know until she saw him in short films at the museum.

He signed the registry there, and a journalist from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution saw his name and reached out to him for an article. Charles attended the 40th anniversary, then subsequent reunions for the 50th and 60th anniversary. He also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

According to his daughter, he found a love of sharing his story to inspire others, especially the youth.

“He loved to talk to the young people and that’s because he was a young man himself when he joined,” said Keisha. “Young people can make the difference, and that begins with you. One person can make a difference, and that person can be you.”

Now as the country looks back on the 65th anniversary, just one of the original 13 Riders remains. The movement swelled to over 400 members, and it is still active today. Charles is a big part of that legacy, both in his own actions and through his inspiration. He founded the Freedom Riders Training Academy that educates demonstrators and peaceful protestors in non-violent resistance.

He was always humble. He encouraged his daughter to focus on her education and enjoy the opportunities he did not have and had to fight for. He was always her hero at home.

“Everybody saw him as Charles Person, original Freedom Rider, civil rights icon, a legend, and I just saw him as my dad,” said Keisha.

The Whitewater visit came about as a team up between history teacher Kerry Moore and media specialist Matia Storey Edwards. They were looking to host a special event for the school’s Black Student Union and Social Studies Honor Society during Black History Month.

Edwards met Charles originally when she was a student at the University of Georgia. She later invited him to speak virtually to Griffin High when she was their media specialist. Even though he is no longer around to share his first-hand stories, his family is carrying on his legacy.

“We are ever so grateful to have had his wife and daughter with us at Whitewater to share his legacy,” said Edwards. “His memory goes on, and we are all the better because of his sacrifices to society.”