Freedom Rider Bernard Lafayette, Jr. sings a song before the 2011 Student Freedom Ride begins.

A profile of Peter Davis, one of the 40 student freedom riders participating in the 2011 Student Freedom Ride. "Every generation - the spirit of activism, the spirit of the more perfect union, and fighting for justice - needs to be reborn. It's not transmitted from every generation to the next one," says Peter. "Each generation needs to find inspiration to rekindle that spirit."

The international manhunt for the killer of Martin Luther King.

"Throughout my entire life, I haven't really been exposed to that much of civil rights history, and I think that a lot of college students today think we don't have power to make a change or a drastic change in society, but we really do," says Rob Sgrignoli, one of the 40 student freedom riders participating in the 2011 Student Freedom Ride from May 6-16.

A profile of Tariq Meyers, one of the 40 student freedom riders participating in the 2011 Student Freedom Ride from May 6-16. "I've always been told, from a young age, that it's my job to leave the world different than the way I came," Tariq says.

A profile of Zilong Wang, one of the 40 student freedom riders participating in the 2011 Student Freedom Ride in May 2011. "China is going through many of the similar periods as America has gone through 50 years ago," Zilong says. "There's a lot to be learned from America's mistake and its success."

A profile of Liliana Astiz, one of the 40 student freedom riders participating in the 2011 Student Freedom Ride. "The more you take control of what your life is, and the more you take control of what your future becomes," Lily says, "the more you begin to see how much power you really do have."

A profile of Tania Smith, a student at American University and one of the 40 student freedom riders participating in the 2011 Student Freedom Ride.

The Stonewall riots inspired gay Americans to fight for their rights. It was another great step forward in the story of human rights.

Organizers of the first gay pride march had low expectations. Here, they remember the march, held in New York City, one year after the Stonewall riots, in June 1969.

In June, 1969, a typical NYPD raid of the Stonewall, a gay bar in New York City, had an unexpected result—gay patrons fought back. Here are some reflections on the Stonewall riots.

Richard Inman was president of the Mattachine society, one of the earliest gay rights groups. His goal was to legalize homosexuality between consenting adults.

In 1960s New York, gay men who dressed in women's clothing courted danger; "masquerading" was breaking the law.

In the 1960s, violence was a serious risk for gays and lesbians.

A policeman's 1966 lecture to teenagers on how homosexuality can destroy lives.

A veteran remembers what it was like to discover he was gay. Homosexuality meant a dishonorable discharge and no one would hire you afterwards.

Dangerous "treatments" for eliminating homosexual urges were common in 1950s and 60s.

A profile of Charles Reed, Jr., one of the 40 student freedom riders participating in the 2011 Student Freedom Ride in May 2011. "Thirty-nine new people from across the nation that I have no connection to at all... we share the same belief that social justice is something that is important," says Charles from the campus of the University of Mary Washington.

An introductory video to Karl Kumodzi, one of the forty Student Freedom Riders participating in the 2011 Student Freedom Ride. From May 6-16, college students will join original Freedom Riders in retracing the 1961 Rides from Washington, DC to New Orleans, LA.

This 1955 educational film warns against "the dangers of homosexuality," which is described as "a sickness of the mind." The ten minute video was produced by the Unified School District and the Police Department of Inglewood, California.