Zwerg passed out soon after the photo was taken. James Zwerg, right, with John Lewis after the mob attacked them. "The Lord is my light and salvation, of whom shall I fear. Then, as the mob grabbed him, Zwerg closed his eyes and bowed his head to pray. The mob swarmed him as he stepped off the bus, yelling, "Nigger lover! Nigger lover!" "You killed your father," his mother replied. Zwerg called his mother to tell her where he was going. It explained his decision to join the Freedom Riders. That same night, he had written a letter that was to be handed to them in case he was killed. Zwerg's parents had forsaken him for joining the civil rights movement. But there was another passage at the end that touched Zwerg in a place the other students didn't know about: "Though my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will receive me." "The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I fear?" the Psalm began. To summon his courage, Zwerg stayed up late, reading Psalm 27, the scripture that the students had picked to read during a group prayer before their trip. Zwerg had not planned to go, but the night before, some students had asked him to join them. Their goal was to desegregate public transportation. He was among the 18 white and black college students from Nashville who had decided to take the bus trip through the segregated South in 1961. Only the night before, Zwerg had prayed for the strength to not strike back in anger.
Zwerg accepted his worst fear: He was going to die today. They didn't want anyone to witness what they were about to do.
They had sealed off the streets leading to the bus station and chased away news photographers. Looking out the window, Zwerg could see men gripping baseball bats, chains and clubs. (CNN) - The mob was already waiting for James Zwerg by the time the Greyhound bus eased into the station in Montgomery, Alabama. This report contains objectionable language. Zwerg: "I got so much notoriety because I was white"Įditor's note: This is an excerpt from John Blake's 2004 book "Children of the Movement." The PBS documentary " Freedom Riders," which airs Monday at 9 p.m.Freedom Riders celebrate 50th anniversary this month.James Zwerg is a veteran of Freedom Rides.Iconic civil rights photo made college student a hero.
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