John Lewis | OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

Introduction

John Lewis was one of the most courageous leaders of the American civil rights movement. From the time he was a young man, he put his own safety on the line to fight for equality and justice for all people. He believed deeply in nonviolent protest, the idea that you can change the world through peaceful action rather than fighting. His famous advice to young people was to “get in good trouble, necessary trouble” whenever they saw something that was unfair. Lewis dedicated his entire life to making America a more just and equal country.

Early Life

John Robert Lewis was born on February 21, 1940, near the small town of Troy, Alabama. He grew up on his family’s farm, where he helped take care of chickens and loved to read books. As a Black child growing up in the segregated South, John saw firsthand how unfair laws kept Black and white people apart. When he heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak on the radio as a teenager, he was inspired to join the fight for civil rights. He went on to study at the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee, where he learned about nonviolent protest.

The Civil Rights Movement

As a young man, John Lewis became one of the most active leaders in the civil rights movement. He helped organize sit-ins at lunch counters in Nashville, where Black people were unfairly refused service. In 1961, he became a Freedom Rider, traveling on buses through the South to challenge segregation. He was elected chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, known as SNCC, one of the most important civil rights organizations. At just 23 years old, he was the youngest speaker at the historic 1963 March on Washington, where more than 250,000 people gathered to demand equal rights.

Bloody Sunday

On March 7, 1965, John Lewis and Hosea Williams led about 600 marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, as part of a peaceful march to the state capital of Montgomery to demand voting rights. State troopers met the marchers on the other side of the bridge and attacked them with clubs and tear gas. Lewis was beaten so badly that his skull was fractured, but he refused to fight back with violence. That terrible day became known as “Bloody Sunday,” and news coverage of the attack horrified people across the nation. The courage of the Selma marchers helped push Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which protected the right of all Americans to vote.

A Life in Congress

In 1986, John Lewis was elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing the city of Atlanta, Georgia. He served in Congress for 33 years, earning the deep respect of leaders from both political parties. Lewis worked tirelessly on issues like voting rights, healthcare, and immigration reform throughout his long career. In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. Lewis also wrote a bestselling graphic novel series called “March,” which told the story of his life and the civil rights movement and won the National Book Award.

Legacy

John Lewis passed away on July 17, 2020, at the age of 80, but his message of courage and justice continues to inspire people around the world. He spent more than 60 years fighting for equality, from the lunch counter sit-ins of the 1960s to the halls of Congress. His graphic novel series “March” brought the story of the civil rights movement to a whole new generation of young readers. Lewis showed that one person, armed with courage and a belief in what is right, can help change an entire nation. He is remembered as a true American hero who never stopped believing in the power of “good trouble.”