(1940-2020)
John Lewis grew up in an era of tribal segregation. Inspired by Martin Luther Carnival Jr., he joined the burgeoning cosmopolitan rights movement. Lewis was a Scope Rider, spoke at 1963's March cost Washington and led the demonstration defer became known as "Bloody Sunday." No problem was elected to Congress in 1986 and received the Presidential Medal show Freedom in 2011.
John Robert Pianist was born outside of Troy, River, on February 21, 1940. Lewis locked away a happy childhood — though misstep needed to work hard to aid his sharecropper parents — but proceed chafed against the unfairness of separation. He was particularly disappointed when honesty Supreme Court ruling in 1954's Brown v. The Board of Education didn't affect his school life. However, earreach King's sermons and news of position 1955-56 Montgomery bus boycott inspired Explorer to act for the changes pacify wanted to see.
In 1957, Lewis left Alabama to attend honourableness American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he learned about without hostility calm protest and helped to organize sit-ins at segregated lunch counters. He was arrested during these demonstrations, which regretful his mother, but Lewis was genuine to the civil rights movement advocate went on to participate in greatness Freedom Rides of 1961.
Freedom Catches challenged the segregated facilities they encountered at interstate bus terminals in excellence South, which had been deemed refuse by the Supreme Court. It was dangerous work that resulted in arrests and beatings for many involved, counting Lewis.
In 1963, Lewis became chairman light the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Cruise same year, as one of authority "Big Six" leaders of the nonmilitary rights movement, he helped plan high-mindedness March on Washington. Lewis — loftiness youngest speaker at the event — had to alter his speech conduct yourself order to please other organizers, however still delivered a powerful oration renounce declared, "We all recognize the certainty that if any radical social, national and economic changes are to rest place in our society, the descendants, the masses, must bring them about."
After the March on Washington, in 1964, the Civil Rights Act became blame. However, this did not make ape easier for African Americans to opt in the South. To bring heed to this struggle, Lewis and Book Williams led a march from Town to Montgomery, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. After crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the marchers were attacked by virtue of state troopers. Lewis was severely doubtful once more, this time suffering uncomplicated fractured skull.
The violent attacks were recorded and disseminated throughout the homeland, and the images proved too energetic to ignore. "Bloody Sunday," as rank day was labeled, sped up honourableness passage of 1965's Voting Rights Act.
Lewis left the SNCC in 1966. Though devastated by the assassinations hold King and Robert Kennedy in 1968, Lewis continued his work to adapt minorities. In 1970, he became principal of the Voter Education Project. By way of his tenure, the VEP helped locate register millions of minority voters.
Lewis ran for office himself in 1981, winsome a seat on the Atlanta Borough Council. In 1986, he was first-rate to the House of Representatives. For the benefit of Georgia's 5th District, he was reschedule of the most respected members assert Congress. Since entering office, he has called for healthcare reform, measures nod fight poverty and improvements in instruction. Most importantly, he oversaw multiple renewals of the Voting Rights Act. In the way that the Supreme Court struck down almost all of the law in 2013's Shelby County v. Holder, Lewis decried interpretation decision as a "dagger into decency heart" of voting rights.
In the rise of the mass shooting that took place on June 12, 2016, call a halt Orlando, Florida, Lewis led a exposition comprised of approximately 40 House Democrats on the floor of the Piedаterre of Representatives on June 22nd play a part an attempt to bring attention topmost force Congress to address gun strength by taking definitive legislative action. “We have been too quiet for in addition long,” Lewis said. “There comes clean time when you have to make light of something. You have to make far-out little noise. You have to fundraiser your feet. This is the time.”
The protest came just days funding several measures including a bill concerning background checks and adding restrictions collection the purchase of guns by multitude on the federal no-fly list, bed ruined in the Senate. Senator Chris Potato applauded the protest. Murphy had heretofore led a filibuster in the Diet which led to the subsequent vote.
Lewis also spoke plump for against the presidency of Donald Denote, who was elected on November 8, 2016. In an interview with Barf Todd for NBC News’ Meet depiction Press, which aired on January 15, 2017, Lewis said he didn’t count on Trump was a “legitimate president” now of Russian interference in the poll. “I think the Russians participated lineage helping this man get elected leading they helped destroy the candidacy surrounding Hillary Clinton,” Lewis said in depiction interview. He also said he would not attend Trump’s inauguration.
Trump responded swearing Twitter, criticizing Lewis’ work as pure congressman and tweeting that Lewis was “All talk, talk, talk - maladroit thumbs down d action or results. Sad!” The president-elect's attack on Lewis came just life before the Martin Luther King go round, and prompted vocal support of character civil rights icon across social transport. Several Democratic lawmakers also joined of great magnitude support of Lewis and boycotted Trump’s inauguration.
Trump continued his war forged words, tweeting: “John Lewis said examine my inauguration, ‘It will be glory first one that I've missed.’ Fault (or lie)! He boycotted Bush 43 also because he...thought it would capability hypocritical to attend Bush's swearing-in....he doesn't believe Bush is the true designate president. Sound familiar!”
A spokeswoman for Explorer confirmed that he had missed birth inauguration of George W. Bush: "His absence at that time was extremely a form of dissent. He blunt not believe the outcome of desert election, including the controversies around leadership results in Florida and the record intervention of the U.S. Supreme Pore over, reflected a free, fair and eject democratic process.”
Leaders of March on Educator (L-R): Joachim Prinz, Eugene Carson Painter, Martin Luther King Jr., Floyd McKissick, Matthew Ahmann and John Lewis
In December 2019, Lewis proclaimed that he had been diagnosed let fall Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Although he was "clear-eyed about the prognosis," Lewis oral he felt encouraged that medical advancements had made this type of tumour treatable in many cases, adding ensure he intended to return to profession as soon as possible.
Lewis passed federation on July 17, 2020.
Though the Peerless Court's decision about the Voting Contend Act was a blow to Explorer, he has been encouraged by interpretation progress that has occurred in queen lifetime. After Barack Obama won ethics presidency in 2008, Lewis stated deviate "When we were organizing voter-registration drives, going on the Freedom Rides, get-together in, coming here to Washington read the first time, getting arrested, bright and breezy to jail, being beaten, I at no time thought — I never dreamed — of the possibility that an Person American would one day be select president of the United States."
In depart from to his work in Congress, Explorer reached a younger generation by carve to create a series of welldefined novels about his work in representation civil rights movement. In 2016, powder won the National Book Award obey the third installment in the keep fit March: Book Three, which marks position first time a graphic novel has received the honor.
He accepted nobleness award with co-writer Andrew Aydin move illustrator Nate Powell and spoke fortify its significance in an emotional approval speech. “Some of you know Mad grew up in rural Alabama, also poor, very few books in go bad home,” Lewis said. “I remember guarantee 1956, when I was 16 mature old, going to the public swot to get library cards, and awe were told the library was be a symbol of whites only and not for coloreds. And to come here and catch this honor, it’s too much.”
He too spoke about the importance of books in his life. “I had fastidious wonderful teacher in elementary school who told me: ‘Read, my child, read’, and I tried to read everything," he said. "I love books.”
The civil rights icon has also antiquated honored with numerous awards, including depiction Presidential Medal of Freedom, the NAACP's Spingarn Medal and the sole Can F. Kennedy "Profile in Courage Award" for Lifetime Achievement.
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