Features
Hezekiah Watkins, 73, a civil rights activist and the youngest Freedom Rider nearly 60 years ago stands in front of the Old Greyhound Bus Depot in Jackson, Miss., Monday, February 13, 2023. In 1961, when the Freedom Riders came to Jackson, Watkins, then 13, wanted to join in their protests against Segregation. Though he missed the Freedom Riders by mere moments, Watkins was accidentally pushed into the then-Greyhound bus depot where, in 1961, Blacks were not allowed. He was immediately arrested and taken to Parchman Penitentiary where he was put on death row for 5 days. He has spent the rest of his life fighting for the same rights that he fought for at age 13.