muralist joseph geary hopes the effort helps anniston heal. >> anniston has a bad reputation and i thinkoing this is part of moving beyond it. >> this is a wonderful thing. >> mitchell: hank thomas returned to anniston this week with a group of college students reenacting the rides and found a different greeting. >> i'm so sorry. >> mitchell: a special moment, thomas says, not just for anni ston's progress but the nation's as well. what do you think of the country in 2011? >> mine is the american story it'sed about the good, the bad, america is a great country now. >> mitchell: during the returning trip to anniston, hank thomas met the son of the one of the klansmen who burned the bus. the son policied and invited him to dinner. still ahead on tonight's cbs evening news, new technology helps a paralyzed college student fulfill a graduation dream. nstrong convictions. caltrate soft chews. because women move the world. her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees

a bus set ablaze in anniston. >> it was more than we could ever a imagine. >> now retired in arlington, she was a freedom rider arrested in jackson, mississippi. they were imprisoned for months. >> i was shaken to the core because death was only a breath away. >> their endurance along with the shocking images of hate pushed the federal government to and jim crow laws on public transportation. >> i contributed. i feel darned good about making a contribution. >> they will soon share their trips through history with college students. >> i consider the freedom riders to be living legends. >> when you think of the freedom riders, it is a legacy that will endure. >> on sunday, a bellhop on a bus and retrace the courageous steps of a haunting past that forever changed our nation. >> after 60 years, we are glad to be alive and hope to pass on, not all the details of what we did, but the lessons of what we did. >> it begins on sunday here in washington d.c., winds its way to the park, an ins 10 days in new orleans, louisiana. this led to some of the most monumental moments in u.s. history -- th

outside of anniston, alabama, thomas' bus was surrounded by the klan and set on fire.and five others were almost burned alive. >> i was looking for the easiest way to die. >> reporter: hours later in, birmingham, the second bus carrying sevens riders was met by pipes and bats. james peck lost six teeth and was knocked unconscious. >> we must not surrender to violence. >> reporter: diane nash was a 22-year-old junior at fisk university in nashville. >> it was critical that at that moment we not allow the rides to stop. >> reporter: she recruited ten new students and a second wave of freedom riders boarded a bus to alabama. more than 400 others across the country would join them, a seven-month campaign... >> the college students came down from nashville. >> reporter: ...that is now a pbs documentary. >> well, it's the start of the civil rights movement. you see it becoming a movement around the freedom rides. >> reporter: the rides pressured the kennedy administration to finally enforce federal laws. now in their 70s, many of the freedom riders recently reunited in chica

. >> jennifer anniston.ith people magazine she is going to get the decade of hm otnthe hotness, guys cannot get enough of for the entire decade. the sexes person alive for one word but this is heavy, hot, part of the amount of 10 years! >> we will be right back as the kron 4 morning news continues. two minutes. and watching wall street, the dow jones is down 109 points on this friday. (music) ♪ [ woman ] sam begged and pleaded... so i sent him to camp. we'd earned lots of points with our new citi thankyou card... and i put them to good use. he told me about his bunkmates, and how he signs up for every activity. ♪ he even hangs out with the camp director. just like that. [ male announcer ] the new citi thankyou premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it. >> we will talk about the search for the suspects. >> the condition. >> new details what he is coming out strong against the texting behind the wheel. been a contentious meeting white house. with benjamin ne