Freedom Rider's Father
In 1961, a letter was written to one of the freedom riders,John Dolan, by his father, telling his son that he is extremely disappointed in his sons actions for joining the Freedom Riders. In part of the letter he states: "It seems incredible that a man with a brilliant mind and all the opportunities that you have should choose to pursue such a ridiculous course." The son even states "My father disinherited me. My mother was worried about my safety. My friends in college supported me. My older friends from high school were concerned that I would become a communist." Dolan was arrested in Mississippi and Louisiana and was beaten by the New Orleans police. His father eventually put him back in his will.
Jim Zwerg
In a interview with one of the freedom riders, Jim Zwerg, he explains some of the comments he heard during his time as a Freedom Rider. 'You black son-of-a-bitch, what are you doing here? Get the hell out of here! Hey boy, go on back where you belong!' It could be something that simple. Of course, I was 'white-trash' a 'nigger-lover' That didn't bother me much. But one of the young black women was a classmate of mine and they started making overtures using special vulgarities of her relationship with me. That bugged me. My first reaction was, quite honestly, just grit your teeth, clench your fists, I wanted to pop that guy so bad I could hardly stand it, but I didn't." The interviewer than asks if Zwerg was ever hurt during the freedom rides, and this is what he says: "I was knocked to the ground. I remember being kicked in the spine and hearing my back crack, and the pain. I fell on my back and a foot came down on my face. The next thing I remember is waking up in the back of a vehicle and John Lewis handing me a rag to wipe my face. I passed out again and when I woke up I was in another moving vehicle with some very southern sounding whites. I figured I'm off to get lynched. I had no idea who they were. Again, I went unconscious and I woke up in the hospital. I was informed I had been unconscious for a day and a half. One of the nurses told me that another little crowd were going to try and lynch me."
Freedom Rides, 50 Years Later
50 years after the freedom rides, John Lewis speaks about what influenced him to join the rides. "For four years I had traveled by bus from going from rural Alabama to Montgomery, Montgomery to Birmingham, Birmingham to Nashville and I saw the segregation, the racial discrimination. I saw those signs that said 'white waiting, colored waiting, white men, colored men...' and I wanted to do something about it. And the Freedom Rides was my opportunity to do something about it."
Lewis and zwerg
John Lewis and Jim Zwerg are completely two different people, John Lewis is black and Jim Zwerg is white. The two men explain what they saw in an interview with Ann Bausum. "When we arrived in downtown Montgomery...it was so quiet, it was so eerie, it was almost frightening. The bus drove into the parking deck at the station, opened the door, and the moment, the very moment that we started down the steps of the bus, this mob came out of nowhere." John Lewis explains in the 2004 interview. Jim Zwerg then explains what he saw: "You could see baseball bats; you could see hammers; you could see pieces of chain. You knew why they were there...And you knew it was very soon going to happen. At that moment...I bowed my head, and I prayed. And I asked God to give me the strength to be nonviolent. I asked God to forgive them for whatever they might do. And I asked Him to be with me."