When Lewis and other Freedom Riders arrived in Jackson, they were promptly arrested. They refused to post bail so as to deny financial support to the system of segregation. While King demanded a more concerted response from the Kennedy administration, Lewis and others were sent to a notorious prison farm in Mississippi, where the warden warned them that there would be no newspapers to publicize their plight. The prisoners resisted the guards’ attempts to dehumanize them, singing “freedom songs” even after the guards confiscated their mattresses, sprayed them with firehoses, and deprived them of toothbrushes. Over a month after their arrest, someone posted bond on the prisoners’ behalf, and as the Freedom Riders continued throughout the summer, the Justice Department successfully called for the Interstate Commerce Commission to affirm the integration of bus travel.

Returning to Nashville, Lewis campaigned for equal employment opportunity, but as protesters continued to endure harassment and violence, some members began to question the commitment to nonviolence. The main voice of dissension was Stokely Carmichael, who regarded nonviolence purely as a tactic rather than as a way of life. In response, Lewis helped to arrange Carmichael’s expulsion from the group.