In 1961, a small group of activists, both black and whites, decided to travel by bus through the Deep South, where segregation in bus facilities wasn't just the custom, it was the law, and where the simple act of boarding a bus was enough to put one's life on the line. The law stated that waiting areas at bus stations could not be segregated for those traveling between states, but many did not follow this law. The activists, known as the Freedom Riders, rode in protest of this injustice and continued to draw America's attention to the racial violence in the South.