A simple act of compassion became a symbol of racial tolerance that is still celebrated 50 years after it was performed by a 12-year-old girl living in the segregated South during the turbulent civil rights era.

Janie Forsyth McKinney, a UCLA staff member who works as a communications specialist for External Affairs staff training, grew up on the outskirts of Anniston, Ala., where the Ku Klux Klan was a powerful force. When 12-year-old McKinney went to aid civil rights activists who came under attack by white supremacists, she became part of the civil rights movement's lore, changing her life forever.

The PBS documentary series "American Experience" features the 1961 Freedom Riders on Monday (May 16; check local listings for times). Read the rest of Janie McKinney's story here.