Lewis, John Robert, 1940–2020,
African-American politician and civil-rights leader, b. near Troy, Ala.,
B.A. American Baptist Theological Seminary, 1961, B.A. Fisk Univ., 1967. The
son of sharecroppers, he was an early advocate of nonviolence in the pursuit
of civil rights for African Americans. A member of the Student Non-violent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and its president (1963–66), he
organized lunch-counter sit-ins, was one of the original Freedom Riders, and helped organize the
historic March on Washington (1963). Arrested more than 40 times, he was
beaten by white mobs and police, most violently during the Selma to
Montgomery march on “Bloody Sunday” (1965), when he was
severely injured. After leaving SNCC, Lewis concentrated on voter education
and headed (1977–80) ACTION, a federal volunteer agency. A liberal
Democrat, he won election to the Atlanta city council in 1982; four years
later he was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from
Georgia. Lewis was a major supporter for the establishment of the
Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and
Culture, which opened in 2016. Lewis won numerous awards and honorary
degrees, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2011). He served in
Congress until his death, known less for sponsoring legislation than for
being the conscience of the Congress, continuing his fight for freedom,
equality, and basic human rights.
See his autobiographies (2002, 1999; with M. D’Orso, 2012; with B. Jones, 2012), and
graphic histories (2013, 2015, 2016, 2018; all with A. Aydin); biography by
J. Meacham (2020); D. Halberstam, The Children (1998); D.
Parter, dir., John Lewis: Good Trouble (documentary,
2020).
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