"Where am I?? Where am I?? I lay there unconcious, pain searing up, down, and through my body. I dare not fight back though, I dare not. These were the thoughts that were going through my head. What if I die, how will my mother take it? How would they tell her? How would she know that I was doing this for the beter of my country, and not just being foolish??" "And... Cut! That was great you guys! Awsome recreation! If only we were there to experience what really happened without getting hurt! Then the audience would think that it was real footage, and not some thing we created!"

"Pam" rang the loud speaker,"report to the wardrobe trailer in three hours."

That's me Pamala Crew, (no resemblence to J. Crew) the star reporter here. I am the one who everyone looks up to, or at least they should. Since I don't live here, the producers and directors gave me my own trailer, which is where I eat and sleep. As I walked inside of my home away from home, a sudden spining sensation filled the air, spining round and round, never stopping until I fell to the ground.

I hear people talking quietly, barely loud enough to hear. I slip off the floor, holding my breath when I realize that I'm not in my trailer any more, but in a dark room. This must be a little trick from the director that I am always teasing about his bad jokes. But, I don't think that this is one of those jokes. I am used to suprises, I mean I should be. I'm a reporter, so I see everything, don't I? I heard soft quiet voices comming from another part of the room. I reached into my left pocket to get out what usually is my bronze colored recorder, but what I pull out is completely different. It was a Philips E3300 cassette tape recorder, the kind I used when I was very young. Then I reach into my right pocket for my camera. But again I pulled out another artifact. A Pentax- 53, another item I was familier with when I was younger.

I feel like I'm on the mystery bus from Scooby - Doo, I thought. Then as I leened closer to the myserious voices I was hering, I heard a "grovey" and that is when I knew that something was wrong. My favorite movie growing up was The Wizard of Oz , I knew it by heart. So I clicked my heels together and said to my self, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no pla-" I heard a sudden laugh. I slithered closer on my hands and knees, begging not to be caught. "Toto -- I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." was the next thought that ran through my head. I creeped closer and closer, until I could barely touch their chairs. The group included what looked mostly like college kids, and people under 30. The majority of the group was mostly men, but a few females were there. The races were equally divided between blacks and whites. I heard them talking, barely loud enough for me to hear. They were talking about seeing if the public transportations and wether people using it were treated equally. And then it hit me. These were the Freedom Riders!! Public Transportation, sitting in at segregated lunch counters and waiting areas. It was all here. I took out the tape recorder, hoping that it was working. I pushed down on the play and record buttons. I knew that this would be great for the recreation when I got home--if I get home. I stood up, going to say that I would help with their mission. But as soon as I did, I regretted it. When I stood up, it seemed as if nobody noticed me. This was the first time that this had ever happened to me, because I was always the class clown, or the person that everyone knew and looked up to. I was the POPULAR girl. I was waving my hands in the air. It was like they thought that I was a bee or something that they were trying to ignore. It was soon obvious that I could see them, but they could not see me. I am soo weirded out. I feel like I am in one of the "Twilight Zone" episodes where some thing unworldly happens to you. I looked back at the group. They had now begun talking about which public transportation they were going to use. They decided to go on two buses, one Greyhound and one Trailways.

That was when I decided to get onto their buses to join the group. Since no one could see me, I could not get beaten or arrested. But I needed to see if the people could feel me. I then placed my hand ontop of a man's shoulder. He froze, thinking that it was a membeer of the Ku Klux Klan, but when he turned around, he was relieved, supposing that it was just a fly. I am just invisible. Suddenly, everyone slowly got up. I had not been listening to last part, so I did not know where to go to be with the group. I then found a piece of paper on the floor. It said, "I saw you standing there. If you are not just a figment of my imagination, meet me outside of the door. You may be able to help us. Andrew Kimbler." It had been about two minutes since they had to leave, so I had to hurry, incase this Andrew has left. As soon as I got out the door(It was a very large room), I saw a young man walking down the hallway. I ran up to him, and as soon as I got enough courage, I said, "I'm guessing that you are Andrew Kimbler. I am Pam Crew. The person you saw standing in the corner." Once he realized who I was, he took off his hat and tilted down his head. He said," Where are you from? I'm originally from Chicago, but I moved here to try and desegregate places." I replied,"I am from far from here. Farther then you could ever imagine. Trust me." I had said that kind of sharp, but I definatly did not want to answer any more questions. "I was wondering if I could join your riot with the buses."

"It isn't a riot, but an expirement. But sure you can. Are you, like, supposed to be my guardian angel or something?"

"No, but I will help you in your time of need."

"Meet me tommorow at the grocery store"

"Which one?"

"The only one!"

"Where is it?"

"Down the street on the right."

"I'll meet you there. Have a nice night!"

I decided to go back to the room I woke up in to go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long, long day. I slowly drifted off to sleep....

The next morning when I woke up, I was ready for action. I got out of the room, went down the stairs, walked down the sidewalk, and ended up at the grocery store.

I saw Andrew and walked up to him.

"It's about time! Where have you been? We are all in the buses! Chop Chop!!"

"Coming, coming. Hold your horses."

I crawled onto the bus, and noticed that all the people were actually on the bus. I've never been this late! I have always been the kind who was fashionably late, where people didn't mind waiting for me.

I grabbed a row that had two seats so that Andrew and I could sit together. I waited there. I had to kick two people out of the row, because they had tryied to sit on me. This had never happened to me before, and I was not used to it. But I was understanding, because, I mean, I'm invisible! Finally Andrew came, and saved me from my misery. We talked on the way here. Our conversation consisted of what we were like, and what we were doing. He said that there were a small percentage of people being sponsored by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), but the other people were apart of Studen Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He said that they were planning on having "sit-ins" in segregated lunch counters. He explained to me that the group was conducted by students. We were going through the south and ending up in New Orleans. It's was roadtrip time baby!

I had fallen asleep, but when I woke up we were there. Andrew made my disapointments come true. He said that I would have to stay borded on the bus, and not get out when they would get out. He said that if I got hurt, then I may not be able to go back to modern time. He would explain to me what was happening. But that wasn't going to stop me. I was invisible, so what could hurt me. Nothing, right? There was no time for thinking about what will or will not happen to me. I needed to hurry, and that was all I wanted on my mind. I couldn't let Andrew see me. This is like hide and go seek, where you are trying not to the person who is it see you. Andrew was it, and I was running away. Before Andrew left his seat, he said that we were in Birmingham, Alabama. As soon as Andrew exited the door, I jumped out of my seat. I fast-walked out, and onto the road. My eyes were suddenly blinded, because I was seeing a lot of white colored items. Once my vision was restored, I noticed that they had cone shaped hats on their heads. The Ku Klux Klan. Dreadful. Dangerous. Deathly. And most importantly, racist. I saw a police officer standing there. To my horror, he wasn’t doing a thing! His badge read “Chief Eugene Connor”. The KKK was under police protection. This was going to get ugly.

Need to have a few note on Freedom Rides so you can understand the story better?

What happened?

The freedom rides went through the south sitting at white restaurants and white waiting rooms. The rides were met by the Ku Klux Klan and other white mobs who viciously beat them.

When did this happen?

This happened in 1961 in Montgomery, Alabama, and on May 4th in Washington, D.C. These were core launches of a series of freedom rides into the south. A group called Congress of Racial Equlity sponcered freedom rides through the south. In these journies, African Americans and whites intended to test wether all people using public transporation were treated the same. Some tof the rides were brutally beaten or atrrested. In Alabama, one of their buses were bombed. Federal Marshals often were sent to ensure the safety of the riders.

Was it fair?

During the rides it was not fair because mobs would come after the riders and beat them. But, in the end it all turned out fair because some of the major transportation companies desegregated the transportation lines.

Why did this happen?

This happened because their plan was to try and desegregate places, and they sucsedded in some places.

These notes were contributed by Anna, Dani, and Michael

Want to see more gadjets from the sixty's? Then visit this website!!

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I glanced around, looking for Andrew. To my dismay, he was on the ground, being kicked and abused. He was drenched in blood.

I ran to his side in aide, hoping that he was the only being who could see me. I decided to help him out.

I grabbed one of the members of the KKK, and threw him to the ground. I was repeatedly doing this, until quite a few were not willing to fight back at something they couldn’t see.

Then I saw people running away from the bus with their hands over their heads. I knelt down into a squat, and with all my might, I lifted Andrew from the ground. I ran with him in him in my arms toward a store. Seconds later, the Greyhound bus was in ashes. I put Andrew back on the ground near a trashcan.

He said, “My guardian angel. I’m glad that you disobeyed me. You know what they say. It’s a free country.”

I replied, “But not for all.” I glanced over at the beatings, “Not for the ones who want it the most.” I then stood up.

Then I felt a sudden spinning sensation that filled the air, spinning round and round, never stopping until I fell to the ground.

And there I was again in my trailer, now awake. The only difference was that I knew now what real racism was about, and that shall always change my life and perspective on things. I have it pretty good compared to what it was like back then. It seems so silly how I used to be worried to go outside because my outfit didn’t match, but now I feel bad for the people who were thought to be an inferior skin color. Hoping that you would be able to come home safe and sound to your family.

Someone was knocking on the door. I stood up to answer it, and when I did, I felt good about myself. When I opened it, the man looked exactly like Andrew did in my dream.

I addressed myself, for I had never seen this person before.

“Hello I’m Pam Crew. Do you need something?”

He replied, “Yes. You are supposed to be in the wardrobe room.”

“Oh thank you for getting me. By the way, you wouldn’t be related to Andrew Kimbler, would you?”

“Actually, I am. He is my father. Do you know him?”

“Yes. Would you tell him I said hi?”

“I would, but he died.”

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! How did it happen?”

“He was killed during a race riot.”"At least he was doing it for a good cause." Hearing about Andrew was very disapointing. "Andrew was my guardian angel."