Bob Zellner
A Freedom Rider Remembers
Experience the Civil Rights Movement through a first-hand account.
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ABOUT THE EPISODE
Freedom Rider and Activist Bob Zellner discusses his involvement in 1964’s Freedom Summer and his lifelong dedication to the fight for social change and equal rights.
For a captioned version of this interview, go to YouTube.
ABOUT THE GUEST
Raised in Alabama, the son and grandson of Klansmen, Bob Zellner was an unlikely civil rights activist. He became the first white southerner to serve as Field Secretary for “Snick,” the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and was arrested 18 times in seven states. In 1967, Zellner joined SCFF, the Southern Conference Educational Fund, and continued organizing for anti-racism efforts.
Now a Ph.D. in history, with a focus on the southern civil rights movement, Zellner keeps the stories of the movement alive. In his memoir, The Wrong Side of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement, Zellner reveals the sometimes horrific, always interesting, story of the commitment to racial justice. Spike Lee produced a film titled Son of the South, which was based on Zellner’s book.
More on Bob Zellner
- Civil Rights Activist Bob Zellner Arrested in North Carolina for Protesting Voting Law
- Moral Heroes: Bob Zellner
More info on the Civil Rights Movement
- PBS Freedom Riders
- Son of the South
- PBS Black Culture Connection: Civil Rights Movement
- Bob Zellner on Bill Moyers: North Carolina Moral Mondays
PENN STATE CONNECTION
WHERE TO WATCH
WPSU
Thursday, 2/27 at 8pm
ABOUT THE HOST
Veteran interviewer Patty Satalia hosts in-depth conversations with a broad range of remarkable people.
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