Beyond the Burning Bus (by Phil Noble)

I just finished reading Beyond the Burning Bus, Phil Noble's 2003 book about the aftermath of the May 14, 1961 attacks on Freedom Riders aboard Greyhound and Trailways buses traveling through Anniston, Alabama (NewSouth Books).

Many accounts have explained how the violence in Alabama on that Mother's Day was perpetrated to intimidate blacks and others who supported the enforcement of Federal laws that gave blacks equal access to interstate transportation. Noble's book paints an altogether different picture.

I learned of Noble's book from Harvey Jackson's August 2003 review published in the Anniston Star. Harvey's review was the very first "hit" that came up when I'd Googled burning bus anniston.

Visits to Anniston to see my parents a couple times a year renew my interest in the events of the early 1960s. I was in Anniston just a couple weeks ago when I did that particular Google search. As soon as I found Jackson's review I looked up the book on Amazon and ordered a copy. By the time I got back to my home in Ohio the book was waiting for me. I was stunned to see the return address on the package: P. Noble, along with a home address. I realized that I had just experienced a "new media" moment, with Google helping me find content that then pointed me to a book that I then found via Amazon, that then helped me track down an actual person: Phil Noble. But first, some words about the book.

Beyond the Burning Bus is a riveting story, that is, if you are interested in such matters. As should be clear to any reader of this blog, I am a very, very interested reader in such matters. Rarely does a reader find a book one EXACTLY the topic s/he wants to learn more about EXACTLY at that moment. I read through the book -- which is not very long to begin with -- in a couple of days.

From the mid-1950s until 1971 Noble was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Anniston. His book recounts events and details from that period, discussing issues and events that I knew nothing about. He tells the story of how he was approached by two key black pastors in Anniston, hoping to develop a working relationship with a white minister for the good of the two communities, divided by traditions and world views that bubbled up so violently in Anniston that May 14, 1961 day.

In the end, Noble concludes that the severity of the May 14, 1961 attacks and the danger of more violent attacks against blacks in Anniston ultimately had the effect of pulling together whites and blacks for the good of the community -- both economically and socially. More on that later, as well as a follow up phone conversation with Noble.