In the spring of 1961, a group of thirteen activists (seven Black, six white) left the Greyhound bus terminal in Washington, DC, with tickets to New Orleans, Louisiana. Under the direction of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), they traveled through the Jim Crow South, where buses and bus terminals remained segregated despite a Supreme Court ruling the previous year demanding their integration. Facing the near-certainty of arrest and the possibility of terrible violence, the Freedom Riders would gain national attention and prove that the federal government was not enforcing its own laws. In addition, by traveling from state to state, they helped shift the civil rights movement from individual localities such as Montgomery and Nashville to a comprehensive attack on the entire system of Jim Crow.

John Lewis is closely associated with the phrase “good trouble” and “necessary trouble.” As someone who was arrested around 40 times, he often ran afoul of the law, but only because the laws themselves were unjust. There is no virtue to abiding by the rules when the rules are designed to harm and shame other human beings. Challenging the status quo might put someone in trouble, but they are doing what is morally right.