Freedom Riders National Monument Bus Burning Site Master Plan

Freedom Riders National Monument is developing a Master Plan for the Bus Burning Site in Calhoun County, Alabama. The site is the location where a violent mob set fire to a bus of Freedom Riders during the 1961 Freedom Rides, a movement to challenge discriminatory state laws and local customs that required racial segregation on buses and in bus station facilities. The bus burning site is one of two sites that comprise the national monument—the other being the Greyhound Bus Station in downtown Anniston, where the Freedom Riders initially encountered the mob and from which the bus departed. More information about Freedom Riders National Monument is available under the "Links" tab to the left.

The National Park Service is pleased to welcome public support and participation in this planning process that will provide management guidance, development concepts, and conceptual designs for commemoration of the Freedom Rides and Riders at the Greyhound Bus Burning Site unit of the national monument.

The National Park Service is currently welcoming public comment on preliminary management and design concepts available for review in a newsletter and online StoryMap. The park planning team will accept public comment on the preliminary ideas for the site during a public engagement period that extends until October 10, 2024. You may view, download, and comment on the concepts by clicking "Open for Comment" on left menu bar and selecting "Preliminary Concepts Newsletter." Additional information about the concepts and park is also available by visiting the StoryMap link found under the "Links" tab.

In addition to the opportunity to comment through this site, the National Park Service planning team will host two open house events in Anniston, Alabama on September 24th. The public is welcome to attend these meetings and share their thoughts directly with park planners and staff. More information on the meetings can be found under the "Meeting Notices" tab on the left.

Thank you for your interest in Freedom Riders National Monument and its future. If you wish to receive regular updates on this plan's progress, consider sharing your contact information via the mailing list found under the "Links" tab.