Westbrook Pegler, a strong proponent of segregation, was allowed a personal interview with me in the first few days after I was arrested as a Freedom Rider. Here is his derogatory article which was published in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Monday, June 12, 1961. The hostile sentiments expressed towards the Freedom Riders was the rule in the south in this period of our history (not surprisingly…) The only people I trusted on the streets were blacks. I especially did not trust the police, nor frankly, any white person that I came across.
