Tweeting all the way

Fifty years ago, the Freedom Riders risked their lives during their 10-day journey by bus from Washington to New Orleans to call attention to segregation in the South. Their vehicles were bombed and participants were beaten.

“Fortunately, these days we don’t have to put ourselves in danger to create change,” said Erica Shekell, a Michigan State University junior, who is on her own 10-day journey, retracing the route of the 1961 trip.

“We can simply make YouTube videos, and people will know what’s going on."

The students are using social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, to document their experiences.

 “It’s a lot safer than what the original Freedom Riders had to do,” said Shekell, who is pursuing a double major in journalism and media arts and technology. “They didn’t have social media, so the only way to get media attention was to go into situations in which people reacted violently toward them.”

Shekell was one of 40 students chosen from 1,000 applicants from across the country to participate. The trip promotes the “American Experience” documentary “Freedom Riders,” which begins airing on PBS stations May 16, the same night Shekell and her fellow passengers arrive in New Orleans. 

“I’ll be tweeting about anything I find interesting, such as what city I’m going to at this moment,” Shekell said. “I’m also going to be tweeting about my experience as a MSU student going on this ride, as well as my experience as being a resident of Howell.” 

Each student has his or her handle for Twitter: Shekell’s handle is @eShekell and the hashtag is #pbsbus.

Active engagement in social media is one of the reasons Shekell was selected, she said. 

The students contribute to a blog by posting their thoughts and producing videos. Some of the posts and videos document their experiences during the day, some talk about why they got on the bus, and others discuss social injustice and respect for “invisible” groups.

“People in the older generation think that my generation is apathetic because we are not out there doing protests or joining organizations,” Shekell said. “They think, ‘Why aren’t young people engaged these days?’ In my opinion, young people are using new social media instead of going to protests.”