as he sought to energize the sit-in activism and push the limits of nonviolent dissent encouraged by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “We pleaded not guilty,” wrote Mr. Gaither, who died Dec ...

Mr. Gaither, who went on to play an important role in the 1961 Freedom Rides, died on Dec. 23 at his home in Prospect, Pa., north of Pittsburgh, his family said. He was 86. A little-sung catalyst ...