Freedom Rides Museum

It’s and today we are spotlighting Donna Garde! Garde was born on December 29, 1935 in Middletown, CT. Donna joined the Rides at the age of 25. At that time she was an elementary teacher in NJ and a graduate of Syracuse University. Donna traveled by Greyhound with 3 other Riders from Nashville to Jackson, MS on July 21, 1961. When they arrived, they were all charged with “breach of peace” and sentenced to jail for their participation in the Freedom Rides even though they weren’t breaking any laws. After the Rides, Donna Garde participated in MS Freedom Summer in 1964. While there she taught art at a Freedom School. She also took dozens of photos which are part of the Mark Levy Collection in the Civil Rights Archive at Queens College. She later earned her master’s in special education from Columbia University.

Linked below are Donna Garde’s photos in the Mark Levy Collection at Queens College.
https://www.jstor.org/site/queenscollegearchives/civilrightsphotos/?so=item_title_str_asc&searchkey=1724949139034&pagemark=eyJwYWdlIjoyLCJzdGFydCI6MjUsInRvdGFsIjozMzV9

Come see us! We are open today from 11am-4pm!

The Freedom Rides Museum will be open tomorrow in celebration of Juneteenth. Stop by and see us!