FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Andi Martin, Marketing and Public Relations Manager  

andi.martin@ahc.alabama.gov, 334-230-2680

June 6, 2019

Ohio Educator Bikes 600 miles to Freedom Rides Museum in Montgomery, AL

(Montgomery, AL) The Alabama Historical Commission and the Freedom Rides Museum invite you to welcome Dr. Peter Titlebaum, University of Dayton Professor of Health and Sport Science, and the Bike4Freedom riders to Montgomery on Friday, June 7 at 11:00 am. The three cyclists journeyed south on a six-day bike ride in an effort to retrace important routes in American history while en route to Alabama’s historic Capital City.

Titlebaum along with retired University of Dayton technology staffer Dwight Matlock, and Moshe Bar-gil, a native of Israel and VP of Frutarom departed from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati on June 1 on a group cycle donning the moniker Ride 4 Freedom Legacy Tour, an interfaith, intercultural effort to highlight the collective history of African-American and Jewish collaboration during the civil rights movement.

The Ride 4 Freedom participants hope the goodwill tour will raise awareness and donations to benefit both museums and to help create a scholarship at the University of Dayton’s Institute of Applied Creativity and Transformation for a rising senior who develops a community-building project.

In addition to bridging conversations between the two national Civil Rights sites, Titlebaum, Matlock and Bar-gil have also spoke with youth groups along the route, hoping to aspire within them a deeper understanding of what it means to ‘leave a legacy.’

One of the stated goals of the ride is to raise the consciousness of young people about the importance of leaving a positive impact. This parallels to one of the goals of the 1961 Freedom Rides, which was to raise the consciousness of the nation to the challenges African-Americans using interstate transportation in the South.

What happened in Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s changed the world. The Ride 4 Freedom Legacy Tour seeks to further the legacy of the movement and blaze a trail for future generations through positive influence.

One hundred and fifty-five years ago, a diverse group of individuals came together to help enslaved persons move north to freedom. This year, a diverse group of individuals are coming south to help raise awareness and support for the next generation of change makers.

The Ride 4 Freedom Legacy Tour is a reminder of how far we have come as a nation and an inspiration to continue the journey the Freedom Riders made in 1961.

“This ride is not only symbolic for us but for the courageous pioneers who risked their lives for freedom and those who advocated preserving and teaching these legacies as part of our American states,” Titlebaum said. “Our intention is to celebrate black history beyond February.”

To learn more about the Ride 4 Freedom Legacy Tour, visit www.ride4freedomtour.com. For interviews with Titlebaum please contact Diana Lara at 908-294-3045.

For more about the Alabama Historical Commission, or the Freedom Rides Museum, please visit www.ahc.alabama.gov. 

About the Freedom Rides Museum
Working with concerned citizens, The Alabama Historical Commission saved the Greyhound Bus Station from demolition in the mid-1990s. The Museum is located at the intersection of S. Court St. and Adams Avenue in downtown Montgomery. An award-winning exhibit on the building's exterior traces the Freedom Riders' history. It uses words and images of the Freedom Riders, those who supported them, and those who opposed them. Interior exhibits highlight additional information on the Freedom Riders and the way in which buildings were designed for racial segregation. Today, the Alabama Historical Commission operates this significant site.

About the Alabama Historical Commission Located in historic downtown Montgomery at 468 S. Perry Street, the Alabama Historical Commission is the state historic preservation agency for Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission to protect, preserve and interpret Alabama’s historic places. AHC works to accomplish its mission through two fields of endeavor: Preservation and promotion of state-owned historic sites as public attractions; and, statewide programs to assist people, groups, towns, and cities with local preservation activities. For a complete list of programs and properties owned and operated by the AHC, hours of operation, and admission fees please visit ahc.alabama.gov.