Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement (review)

The black and white activists who rode buses together into the South in 1961 to protest discrimination on public transportation may be remembered collectively as a "movement," but Bausum sharpens the focus to present the freedom riders as individuals from varied backgrounds, forged together in a common cause. She first traces the separate life journeys of John Lewis, who knew firsthand the repression of Jim Crow laws, and Jim Zwerg, who grew up in a comfortable white Wisconsin community. Each young man honed his social conscience during his college years and, when the freedom rides were organized, each was ready to turn his beliefs into tangible action. Bausum then covers the rides themselves, the riots that erupted, the behind-the-scenes collusion between segregationists and local authorities to allow unpoliced time for violence, and the actions of a few brave officials who supported the protesters' right to ride. Black-and-white photos of the burned buses, bloodied riders, and furious mobs are wrenching indeed, but just as affecting are the thumbnail sketches of a "partial roster" of the freedom riders, who were either broken or energized by their experience. A timeline, resource guide, citation notes, and an index are included. This title will be a first choice for middle-school civil rights collections.