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- In July 2020, after a battle with pancreatic cancer, Lewis died. Called the “conscience of Congress,” he became the first African American lawmaker to lie in state in the rotunda of the U.S. capitol.
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May 3, 2024 · John Lewis, American civil rights leader and politician best known for his chairmanship of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and for leading the landmark Selma March in 1965. In 1986 he began representing a Georgia district that includes Atlanta in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Facts & Related Content
American civil rights leader and politician John Lewis was...
- Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), American...
- March on Washington
The March on Washington was a political demonstration held...
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Jun 5, 2013 · Nearly five decades after Bloody Sunday in Selma, he’s in the fight of his life, as the Supreme Court threatens to overturn his signature achievement.
- Who Was John Lewis?
- Early Life
- Civil Rights Struggle
- U.S. Congressman
- Clashing with Donald Trump
- Cancer Diagnosis and Death
- Legacy
John Lewis grew up in an era of racial segregation. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., he joined the burgeoning civil rights movement. Lewis was a Freedom Rider, spoke at 1963's March on Washingtonand led the demonstration that became known as "Bloody Sunday." He was elected to Congress in 1986 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 201...
John Robert Lewis was born outside of Troy, Alabama, on February 21, 1940. Lewis had a happy childhood — though he needed to work hard to assist his sharecropper parents — but he chafed against the unfairness of segregation. He was particularly disappointed when the Supreme Court ruling in 1954's Brown v. The Board of Education didn't affect his sc...
In 1957, Lewis left Alabama to attend the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he learned about nonviolent protest and helped to organize sit-ins at segregated lunch counters. He was arrested during these demonstrations, which upset his mother, but Lewis was committed to the civil rights movement and went on to part...
Lewis left the SNCC in 1966. Though devastated by the assassinations of King and Robert Kennedyin 1968, Lewis continued his work to enfranchise minorities. In 1970, he became director of the Voter Education Project. During his tenure, the VEP helped to register millions of minority voters. Lewis ran for office himself in 1981, winning a seat on the...
Lewis also spoke out against the presidency of Donald Trump, who was elected on November 8, 2016. In an interview with Chuck Todd for NBC News’ Meet the Press, which aired on January 15, 2017, Lewis said he didn’t believe Trump was a “legitimate president” because of Russian interference in the election. “I think the Russians participated in helpin...
In December 2019, Lewis announced that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Although he was "clear-eyed about the prognosis," Lewis said he felt encouraged that medical advancements had made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, adding that he intended to return to work as soon as possible. Lewis passed away on July 17, 2020...
Though the Supreme Court's decision about the Voting Rights Act was a blow to Lewis, he has been encouraged by the progress that has occurred in his lifetime. After Barack Obamawon the presidency in 2008, Lewis stated that "When we were organizing voter-registration drives, going on the Freedom Rides, sitting in, coming here to Washington for the f...
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020.
Jul 20, 2020 · July 20, 2020. •13 min read. Upon learning of the death of Nelson Mandela in 2013, John Lewis offered a moving tribute to South Africa’s first Black president. His written homage offered...
- Phillip Morris
Jul 19, 2020 · But Civil Rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, the 17-term Georgia Democrat, was that kind of rare leader, never wavering from his original mission, to see that Black people in America were treated justly, equally, and with dignity.
Dec 30, 2019 · Congressman John Lewis, who announced that he will be treated for Stage IV pancreatic cancer, has made clear that he is not prepared to relinquish his fight.
