Temple's John Raines, professor of religion, was invited to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" last week for a taping of "Oprah Honors American Heroes: The Freedom Riders Reunite 50 Years Later." The episode, marking the 50th anniversary of the first Freedom Ride, will air May 4th.

Raines was one of 183 former Freedom Riders who gathered for the show in one of the largest gatherings of Freedom Riders since 1961. The riders were civil rights activists who peacefully opposed 1960s racial segregation of the South.

During the summer of 1961, approximately 440 Freedom Riders set out to challenge the status quo by riding various forms of public transportation in the South to challenge local laws or customs that enforced segregation.

Raines’ ride departed from St. Louis, Missouri on July 7th and arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas on July 17th. In Little Rock, Raines was arrested for "breaching the peace." He says the experience represented a "second education" and became for him a "rebirth."

"The judge took us into his chambers and told us he knew we were exercising our constitutional rights and that it was the mob outside who was in reality breaching the peace. But, he said, 'if I don't throw you in jail, I won't get re-elected,'" recounted Raines.

I had grown up in a privileged household in Minneapolis where I attended private school and was cared for by a governess. This experience as a Freedom Rider educated me as to how the world worked when you were outside the circles of power and privilege," he said.

Shortly after that, Raines accepted a position at Temple and has devoted his teaching and scholarship during the course of his 45-year university tenure to fighting gender, racial and social class inequities. Raines was awarded a Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching at Temple in 2006.