Published: Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 6:22 p.m. Last Modified: Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 11:12 p.m.

The group known as the Freedom Riders boarded buses, trains and planes to test a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation in all interstate public facilities, which at the time often had separate drinking fountains, restrooms and lunch counters for blacks and whites.

Patton will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Stetson University in DeLand. The presentation is one of a host of events being held over the next few days in Volusia and Flagler counties in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Among the stories that helped shape the civil rights movement Patton will share is the night the Freedom Riders met with King in Montgomery, Ala., after the group suffered brutal beatings at the hands of a white mob.

Patton took part in a bus ride to Jackson, Miss., where his group was arrested for entering a "whites only" Greyhound Bus station waiting room, said Robert Bickel, a law professor at Stetson University.

Patton accompanies students on a summer travel course conducted by Bickel during which the students meet prominent figures in the civil rights movement from Nashville, Tenn., to Montgomery.

"It is important to retell the stories of the civil rights movement, because the movement itself was a significant event in American history, and even more important that we have the opportunity to hear such stories by the people who lived them," Bickel said in an email.

"This event is also important because our efforts to advance social justice today can be successful only if we understand the cause courageously advanced by men and women of the civil rights movement."

Events held Sunday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day include a gospel program followed by a candlelight vigil in Deltona presented by the Deltona Dream Keepers from 4-6 p.m. at the Deltona Alliance Church.

Also scheduled Sunday is a celebration beginning at 4 p.m. presented by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's student chapter of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals that will include songs, poetry, and remarks by Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry. The event will be held on the university's campus on Clyde Morris Boulevard in Daytona Beach.

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Freedom Rider featured among local MLK programs