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James Zwerg

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James Zwerg

Zwerg

1961

Born

November 28, 1939

(age 86)

, U.S.

Alma mater

Occupation

Minister

Known for

Civil rights activist,

Spouse

Carrie

(

1965)

Children

James Zwerg

(born November 28, 1939) is an American retired minister who was

involved with the

in the early 1960s.

Early life

[

]

Zwerg was born in

where he lived with his parents and

older brother, Charles. His father was a dentist who once a month provided

free dental care to the poor.

Zwerg was very involved in school and took

part in the student protests in

Zwerg was also very active in the

, where he attended services

regularly. Through the church, he became exposed to the belief in

He was taught that all people are created equal, no matter what

race or religion they are.

College and SNCC

[

]

Zwerg attended

, where he studied

and graduated in

1962.

He developed an interest in civil rights from his interactions with

his roommate, Robert Carter, an

from

Zwerg

recalled: "I witnessed

against him… we would go to a lunch counter

or cafeteria and people would get up and leave the table. I had pledged a

particular fraternity and then found out that he was not allowed in the

fraternity house. I decided that his friendship was more important than that

particular fraternity, so I depledged."

Zwerg participated in a one-semester student exchange program in January 1961

, a predominantly black school.

At Fisk,

Zwerg met

, who was active in the Civil Rights Movement, and was

immediately impressed with the way Lewis handled himself and his commitment

to the movement.

Lewis was a member of the

(SNCC), a student organized

Civil Rights

group focused on

. Zwerg joined SNCC and suggested that the group attend

a movie.

SNCC members explained to Zwerg that Nashville theaters were segregated.

Zwerg began attending SNCC

nonviolence workshops, often playing the angry bigot in role-play.

His first test was to buy two movie tickets and

try to walk in with a black man.

When trying to enter the theater on February 21, 1961, Zwerg was hit with a

and knocked unconscious.

Freedom Rides

[

]

In 1961, the

(CORE) began to organize

. The first departed from

and involved 13 black and white riders who rode into the South challenging

lunch counters and

restaurants. When they reached

one of the buses was ambushed and attacked.

Meanwhile, at an SNCC

meeting in Tennessee, Lewis, Zwerg and 11 other volunteers decided to be reinforcements. Zwerg was the only white male

in the group.

Although scared for his life, Zwerg never had second thoughts. He recalled, "My faith was never so

strong as during that time. I knew I was doing what I should be doing."

The group traveled by bus to

where Zwerg was first arrested for not moving to the back of the bus with his black seating companion, Paul Brooks.

Three days later, the riders regrouped and headed to

At first the

there was an eerie quiet,

but the scene turned into an

, with the riders attacked from all directions. "Mr. Zwerg was hit with his own

suitcase in the face. Then he was knocked down and a group pummeled him" (qtd. in Loory 577). The prostrate activist

was beaten into unconsciousness somewhere around the time a man took Zwerg's head between his knees while others took

turns pounding and clawing at his face. At one point while Zwerg was unconscious, three men held him up while a woman

kicked him in the groin. After it seemed that the worst of the onslaught was over, Zwerg gained semi-consciousness and

tried to use the handrails to the loading platform to pull himself to his feet. As he struggled to get upright, a white

man came and threw Zwerg over the rail. He crashed to the ground below, landing on his head. He was only the first to

be beaten that day, but the attack on him may have been the most ruthless (Loory 573–79).

Zwerg recalls, "There was

nothing particularly heroic in what I did. If you want to talk about heroism, consider the black man who probably

saved my life. This man in coveralls, just off of work, happened to walk by as my beating was going on and said 'Stop

beating that kid. If you want to beat someone, beat me.' And they did. He was still unconscious when I left the

hospital. I don't know if he lived or died."

Zwerg was denied prompt medical attention because there were no white ambulances available. He was quoted as saying "I

suppose a person has to be dead before anyone will call an ambulance in Montgomery," as he lay in the hospital bed

after being brutally beaten.

He remained unconscious for two days and stayed in the hospital for five days. His

post-riot photos were published in many newspapers and magazines across the country.

After his beating, Zwerg

claimed he had had an incredible religious experience and God helped him to not fight back.

In a 2013 interview

recalling the incident, he said, "In that instant, I had the most incredible religious experience of my life. I felt a

presence with me. A peace. Calmness. It was just like I was surrounded by kindness, love. I knew in that instance that

whether I lived or died, I would be OK."

In a famous moving speech from his hospital room, Zwerg stated,

"Segregation must be stopped. It must be broken down. Those of us on the Freedom Ride will continue.... We're

dedicated to this, we'll take hitting, we'll take beating. We're willing to accept death. But we're going to keep

coming until we can ride from anywhere in the South to any place else in the South without anybody making any

comments, just as American citizens."

Post-Freedom Rides

[

]

Later in 1961,

presented Zwerg with the

Freedom Award.

After a conversation with King, Zwerg decided to enroll at

He met his future wife

Carrie.

Zwerg was ordained a minister, serving for five years in three rural Wisconsin communities.

The Zwergs

settled in

in 1970 and had three children.

He changed his career several times, including charity

organization work and a stint in community relations at

Zwerg retired in 1993 after which the couple built a

cabin in rural

about 50 miles (80 km) from the nearest grocery store.

Zwerg continues to spread

awareness to this day about the trials and tribulations of the Freedom Rides and how love is what is most important.

He gave a speech on May 18, 2011, at

Rosa Parks Museum. He spoke about the effect the Freedom Rides

had on his life.

In an interview with

, Zwerg talked about how blessed he was to have been a part of the

Movement. "Everywhere we've stopped people have been so gracious and so kind and one of the things that has certainly

been rewarding to me has been to see how many people brought their children; seeing a little eight-year-old boy come

up to me and talk to me and say, 'May I please have your autograph?

Thank you for what you did.'

That was pretty

special.

I appreciated that."

References

[

]

Gonzalez, Tony (May 31, 2013). "Accidental Advocate Looks Back".

. pp. A1, A4.

Civil Rights Digital Library

. Digital Library of Georgia. 2011

. Retrieved

May 16,

2011

beloitarchives.libraryhost.com

. Retrieved

February 3,

2025

Simkin, John (April 7, 2011).

Spartacus Educational

. Archived from the original on April

19, 2014

. Retrieved

May 16,

2011

Peoples Century

: Public

Broadcasting Corporation (WGBH)

. Retrieved

May 16,

2011

Catsam, Derek Charles (Fall 2007).

Studies in

the Literary Imagination

(2).

Wooten, Deborah A.; Clabough, Jeremy (Fall 2012). "Freedom Riders: A National Geographic Journey in Social Justice through

Imagery".

Journal of Children's Literature

(2):

51–

57.

. August 23, 2006. Archived from

on February 4, 2017

. Retrieved

October 6,

2011

External links

[

]

Blake, John (May 16, 2011).

CNN

. Retrieved

May 16,

2011