To those who lived through and took part in the civil rights movement, the phrase Freedom Riders conjures vivid memories of brutal attacks, bus bombings and unlawful arrests.

More than 50 years have passed since Freedom Riders took their stand in the South, and the preservation of their struggles and efforts is foremost in the mind of Dr. Barbara Bowie.

Bowie has expanded the scope of the third annual Youth Summit, which comes to Judson High School Thursday, Jan. 15. Freedom Riders MacArthur Cotton and Pat Dilworth will be part of a panel at Judson that will be linked via videoconference to a similar panel of historians in the Niagara Falls Independent School District in Niagara, New York.

Weve brought this program to Judson in the past, and theres just so much interest, said Bowie, who will be in Niagara Falls with Freedom Riders Fred Anderson, Hezekiah Watkins, and her brother, Jesse James Davis. The kids show so much attention to it, and they really have intelligent questions to ask of our panelists.

Thursdays teleconference is part of a busy pre-Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend in San Antonio. Events Friday at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio include a Freedom Riders panel, open-microphone testimonies, and a symbolic Passing of the Torch, where Freedom Riders will speak and hand a commemorative torch to Bexar County Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert, Bexars first African-American county commissioner.

The idea is to establish a legacy for the Freedom Riders that can continue far beyond their lives, Bowie said.

I hope we will be ... doing some things that will benefit our youth, helping them grasp an understanding of their positions in life, she said, by knowing that they can make a difference, even as teenagers, as these Freedom Riders did in the 60s.

Marchers will assemble at 9 a.m. Saturday at Kirby Middle School, 5441 Old Seguin Road in Kirby, for a parade starting at 10 a.m. The procession will travel along Old Seguin Road, Ackerman Road and Binz-Engleman Road on a route to Kirby Friendship Park. The I Can Make A Difference Festival in the park will features speakers, foor and information booths, entertainment and various activities.

Events in Galveston will feature a similar Passing of the Torch and parade at Galveston City Park.

Voter registration cards will be available at all of the events.

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Freedom Riders highlight growing Youth Summit