James "Jim" Zwerg

On the night before, Zwerg had no intention of being part of the Freedom Ride that was to take place the next day. John Lewis, his roommate, asked Zwerg to join him and the other 17 white and African American students who had decide to take the bus trip from Nashville through the segregated south in 1961. Zwerg agreed to it.

 

Zwerg was terrified to take part in the Freedom Ride, so he stayed up all night reading Psalm 27, which began, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I fear?" But, at the end of the passage it stated, "Though my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will receive me." and that touched Zwerg in a very special place that nobody knew about.

 

Upon arrival at the Greyhound Bus Station in Montgomery, Alabama, Zwerg looked out the window and saw a most stressful and terrifying sight, that would be part of him forever: Men gripping baseball bats, clubs and chains littered the streets. They had drove away all photographers and news reporters. The streets leading to the bus station were blocked off because the men didn't want anyone to witness what was about to happen.

 

It was then, that Zwerg accepted his worst fear: He was going to die today.

 

From all directions, the mob swarmed the riders. Zwerg volunteered to be the first one off of the bus. Men grabbed Zwerg yelling and screaming, calling him a "Nigger Lover!" Then, the men grabbed Zwerg's suitcase and didn't stop hitting him with it until he hit the ground. One man clamped Zwerg's head between his knees so the white man's friends could beat Zwerg. They knocked out his teeth, gave him a black eye, and a bruised body.

 

Photographers made there way into the chaos and one took an unforgettable image of what had happened to Zwerg and Lewis. The photo was printed around the world. Even after Zwerg's physical wounds had healed, the emotional ones had wreaked havoc on his life. He struggled with guilt and depression afterwards. He began to drink too much and contemplated suicide, but he finally seeked out therapy to help him.