The heroic story of the Freedom Riders takes center stage on the ‘Oprah Winfrey Show’ this week.  Nearly 200 men and women, who defied the segregation laws of the Jim Crow South to end segregation along interstate travel in the 1960s, will tell their story to Oprah during Wednesday’s (May 4) broadcast.

Apollo Beach resident, Kredelle Petway, is one of the original Freedom Riders invited to participate in the show’s taping in Chicago.

She told her story to the Florida Sentinel in March in celebration of the movement’s 50th Anniversary and premier of the made for television movie ‘Freedom Riders’, which debuted at the downtown Tampa Theater last month.  She says her appearance on Oprah was a once in a lifetime experience.

Pictured: More than 200 Freedom Riders joined Oprah Winfrey for the taping of the show which airs in Tampa on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of Harpo Studios)