James Zwerg was born in Appleton, Wisconsin where he lived with his parents and older brother, Charles. His father was a dentist who provided free dental care to the poor on one day per month. He was very active in school and took part in student protests in high school.
On Mother’s Day May 14th 1961, a group of Freedom Riders were traveling by bus from Washington DC to New Orleans. They were met an angry white mob in Anniston, Alabama who attacked the bus with baseball bats and iron pipes. Rather than stopping, the bus driver continued past the bus station however the angry mob followed the bus in their cars then slashed the tires and a fire bomb was thrown into the bus. [Read more…]