James Zwerg

James Zwerg (born November 28, 1939) is an American retired minister who was involved with the Freedom Riders in the early 1960s.

Early life Zwerg was born in Appleton, Wisconsin 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 also very active in the Christian church, where he attended services regularly. Through the church, he became exposed to the belief in civil equality. He developed an interest in civil rights from his interactions with his roommate, Robert Carter, an African-American from Georgia. Zwerg recalled: "I witnessed prejudice 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 at Nashville's Fisk University, a predominantly black school. 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." 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.

Post-Freedom Rides Later in 1961, Martin Luther King presented Zwerg with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Freedom Award. After a conversation with King, Zwerg decided to enroll at Garrett Theological Seminary. In an interview with Lisa Simeone, 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."