However, the earliest known reference is more specific: Inquiry of an Italian employee of the bureau elicited the information that a âgandy dancerâ is a railway worker who tamps down the earth between the ties, or otherwise âdancesâ on the track.
Eventually the federal government intervened to see that integration was enforced. By the time the Freedom Rides were over, segregation had suffered another blow. The Freedom Rides became a defining part of the civil rights movement, and the Freedom Riders became models of the heroism that transformed race relations.
   More specifically, they were people from the 1960's who wanted  segregation laws changed. Many of them were members â¦ of the Congress  of Racial Equality. Freedom Riders were both African-American and  white.   Some notable Freedom Riders are: Stokely Carmichael, Roby Doris  Smith-Robinson, James Peck, James L. Farmer, Jr., James Lewis,  William Mahoney, and US Representative Bob Filner (D-CA).  More specifically, they were people from the 1960's who wanted  segregation laws changed. Many of them were members â¦ of the Congress  of Racial Equality. Freedom Riders were both African-American and  white.