JFK ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER ATTACK ON FREEDOM RIDERS
Montgomery, Alabama (JFK+50) On May 20, 1961, a bus load of Freedom Riders* came under attack here in Montgomery. 300 segregationists were waiting at the city's bus terminal armed with clubs and metal pipes.
Among the most seriously injured were Jim Swerg** and John Lewis.*** Swerg's suitcase was taken from him and used to hit him in the face and knock him to the ground. He was then beaten repeatedly by the mob.
John Lewis later described what he had experienced...
"It was very violent. I thought I was going to die."
Later in the day, President John F. Kennedy issued the following statement...
"The situation...in Alabama is a source of the deepest concern. I have instructed the Justice Department to take all necessary steps based on their investigations and information. I call upon the Governor...and other officials...to exercise their lawful authority to prevent any further outbreaks of violence. I hope...local officials...will meet their responsibilities. The United States Government intends to meet its."
*Freedom Riders were young people who challenged racial laws in the American South during the early 1960s, originally by refusing to abide by laws directing segregated seating by race on public buses.
**Jim Swerg was born in 1939 in Appleton, Wisconsin. He attended Beloit College and also was an exchange student at Fisk University in Nashville. Jim joined SNCC in 1960.
***John Lewis was born to a family of sharecroppers in Troy, Alabama in 1940. He graduated from Alabama Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University. JL was chairman of SNCC during the civil rights era and one of the original 13 Freedom Riders.
SOURCE
"Statement by the President Concerning Interference With the 'Freedom Riders' in Alabama. May 20, 1961," Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, January 20 to December 31, 1961, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1962.
John Lewis & Jim Swerg
Montgomery, Alabama (JFK+50) On May 20, 1961, a bus load of Freedom Riders* came under attack here in Montgomery. 300 segregationists were waiting at the city's bus terminal armed with clubs and metal pipes.
Among the most seriously injured were Jim Swerg** and John Lewis.*** Swerg's suitcase was taken from him and used to hit him in the face and knock him to the ground. He was then beaten repeatedly by the mob.
John Lewis later described what he had experienced...
"It was very violent. I thought I was going to die."
Later in the day, President John F. Kennedy issued the following statement...
"The situation...in Alabama is a source of the deepest concern. I have instructed the Justice Department to take all necessary steps based on their investigations and information. I call upon the Governor...and other officials...to exercise their lawful authority to prevent any further outbreaks of violence. I hope...local officials...will meet their responsibilities. The United States Government intends to meet its."
*Freedom Riders were young people who challenged racial laws in the American South during the early 1960s, originally by refusing to abide by laws directing segregated seating by race on public buses.
**Jim Swerg was born in 1939 in Appleton, Wisconsin. He attended Beloit College and also was an exchange student at Fisk University in Nashville. Jim joined SNCC in 1960.
***John Lewis was born to a family of sharecroppers in Troy, Alabama in 1940. He graduated from Alabama Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University. JL was chairman of SNCC during the civil rights era and one of the original 13 Freedom Riders.
SOURCE
"Statement by the President Concerning Interference With the 'Freedom Riders' in Alabama. May 20, 1961," Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, January 20 to December 31, 1961, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1962.
John Lewis & Jim Swerg
Civil Rights Exhibition Photo
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