John Lewis: Congressman and Civil Rights Leader (October 5, 2007)

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• published: 08 Nov 2010
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U.S. Congressman John Lewis spoke at the opening of the Eyewitness exhibit at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, a nationally traveling show. Congressman Lewis recalled his days as a civil rights leader, and, more specifically, about his role in Selma, Alabama during that fateful "Bloody Sunday". Lewis' own words and recollections were used in Eyewitness. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan welcomed Congressman, Civil Rights Activist, and author John Lewis to the lectern. Lewis’s visit celebrates the museum’s new exhibit- “Eyewitness”: American Originals from the National Achieves. This exhibition provides personal portrayals of significant events in U.S. history spanning 200 years. It is composed of a variety of narratives, from George Washington’s account of a British attempt to spread small pox among American troops in 1775 to Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Pope John Paul II in 1979. Opening remarks were made by Dr. Elaine K. Diedier, and an introduction was made by 7 term Congressman Vern Ehlers, representing Michigan’s 3rd congressional district. Ehlers, a colleague of Lewis’s for years in the House, offered heartfelt and genuine remarks a propos his admiration for Lewis. Calling Lewis’ a “genuine hero”, he briefly outlined Lewis’s life and accomplishments during the civil rights struggle of the 1960’s. Lewis’s “Eyewitness” account is an emotional retelling of his personal struggles and participation in the civil rights movement. John Lewis was born to share croppers outside Troy, Alabama on February 21st, 1940. He attended segregated schools, and after being inspired by the activism of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., decided to join the civil rights movement. He studied at Fisk University where he would participate in “sit-ins” at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee. Lewis embraced non-violent protest as “a way of life, not just a tactic”, believing that “means and ends are inseparable”. He volunteered for the Freedom Rides, traveling on interstate buses throughout the segregated south protesting segregation on public transportation. In 1963 John Lewis helped form and ultimately became Chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an organization that focused on breaking down “immovable lines” that prohibited African Americans from voting almost entirely in 11 southern states. On August 28th 1963 he was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington where he helped make famous the rallying cry “One man, one vote, it’s the African cry, it is ours, it must be ours”. Lewis recounts his work on the Mississippi Summer Project. Over 1,000 students came to work in the “Freedom Schools”, helping to prepare African Americans for literacy tests which were designed to keep them from participating in the Democratic process. Woefully he retells the events which lead to the murder of three young male volunteers, killed for their participation in the movement. However, undaunted, undeterred, and without hostility or bitterness the Summer Project continued. It’s work and the national attention which the murder of the volunteers brought to the program contributed directly to President Lyndon B. Johnson passing the Civil Rights Act on July 2nd, 1964. Perhaps most notably, Lewis was at the vanguard of the March from Selma to Montgomery, designed to rally African American voters. Lewis recounts the day of March 7th, 1965, on what later became known as “Bloody Sunday”. 600 people neatly walking in an orderly, non-violent fashion from Selma to Montgomery were confronted by “a sea of blue” (State Troopers). Given only minutes to disperse, many were beaten by knight sticks, gassed, and trampled by horses. Lewis was beaten unconscious by State Troopers. Lewis himself credits this march for the passage of the Voting Rights act on August 6th, 1965. In his own words, Lewis describes Eyewitness as an “exhibit saying tonight that we must never give up, we must never give in, that we must keep the faith, that we must keep our eyes open”. In closing, Lewis parallels American society with a house blowing in a thunder storm. “The wind may blow, the thunder may roll, and the lightning may crash…. But we are all in the same house”.” One people, one family, one house” with “an obligation to every generation to hold the house together”. During his time as a activist he was arrested over 40 times. He is regarded as one of the 6 major leaders of Civil Rights movement. John Lewis is now a U.S. Congressman representing Georgia’s 5th congressional district with offices out of Atlanta.

John Lewis: Congressman and Civil Rights Leader (October 5, 2007)

• Report rights infringement
• published: 08 Nov 2010
• views: 94

U.S. Congressman John Lewis spoke at the opening of the Eyewitness exhibit at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, a nationally traveling show. Congressman Lewis recalled his days as a civil rights leader, and, more specifically, about his role in Selma, Alabama during that fateful "Bloody Sunday". Lewis' own words and recollections were used in Eyewitness. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan welcomed Congressman, Civil Rights Activist, and author John Lewis to the lectern. Lewis’s visit celebrates the museum’s new exhibit- “Eyewitness”: American Originals from the National Achieves. This exhibition provides personal portrayals of significant events in U.S. history spanning 200 years. It is composed of a variety of narratives, from George Washington’s account of a British attempt to spread small pox among American troops in 1775 to Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Pope John Paul II in 1979. Opening remarks were made by Dr. Elaine K. Diedier, and an introduction was made by 7 term Congressman Vern Ehlers, representing Michigan’s 3rd congressional district. Ehlers, a colleague of Lewis’s for years in the House, offered heartfelt and genuine remarks a propos his admiration for Lewis. Calling Lewis’ a “genuine hero”, he briefly outlined Lewis’s life and accomplishments during the civil rights struggle of the 1960’s. Lewis’s “Eyewitness” account is an emotional retelling of his personal struggles and participation in the civil rights movement. John Lewis was born to share croppers outside Troy, Alabama on February 21st, 1940. He attended segregated schools, and after being inspired by the activism of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., decided to join the civil rights movement. He studied at Fisk University where he would participate in “sit-ins” at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee. Lewis embraced non-violent protest as “a way of life, not just a tactic”, believing that “means and ends are inseparable”. He volunteered for the Freedom Rides, traveling on interstate buses throughout the segregated south protesting segregation on public transportation. In 1963 John Lewis helped form and ultimately became Chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an organization that focused on breaking down “immovable lines” that prohibited African Americans from voting almost entirely in 11 southern states. On August 28th 1963 he was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington where he helped make famous the rallying cry “One man, one vote, it’s the African cry, it is ours, it must be ours”. Lewis recounts his work on the Mississippi Summer Project. Over 1,000 students came to work in the “Freedom Schools”, helping to prepare African Americans for literacy tests which were designed to keep them from participating in the Democratic process. Woefully he retells the events which lead to the murder of three young male volunteers, killed for their participation in the movement. However, undaunted, undeterred, and without hostility or bitterness the Summer Project continued. It’s work and the national attention which the murder of the volunteers brought to the program contributed directly to President Lyndon B. Johnson passing the Civil Rights Act on July 2nd, 1964. Perhaps most notably, Lewis was at the vanguard of the March from Selma to Montgomery, designed to rally African American voters. Lewis recounts the day of March 7th, 1965, on what later became known as “Bloody Sunday”. 600 people neatly walking in an orderly, non-violent fashion from Selma to Montgomery were confronted by “a sea of blue” (State Troopers). Given only minutes to disperse, many were beaten by knight sticks, gassed, and trampled by horses. Lewis was beaten unconscious by State Troopers. Lewis himself credits this march for the passage of the Voting Rights act on August 6th, 1965. In his own words, Lewis describes Eyewitness as an “exhibit saying tonight that we must never give up, we must never give in, that we must keep the faith, that we must keep our eyes open”. In closing, Lewis parallels American society with a house blowing in a thunder storm. “The wind may blow, the thunder may roll, and the lightning may crash…. But we are all in the same house”.” One people, one family, one house” with “an obligation to every generation to hold the house together”. During his time as a activist he was arrested over 40 times. He is regarded as one of the 6 major leaders of Civil Rights movement. John Lewis is now a U.S. Congressman representing Georgia’s 5th congressional district with offices out of Atlanta.