Birthplace of Congressman John Lewis

Birthplace of Congressman John Lewis. . , Born February 21, 1940, John Lewis was raised on this rural Pike County land by his parents, sharecroppers Eddie and Willie Mae Lewis. In December 1957, while a student at American Baptist College in Nashville, Lewis applied for admission to the all-white Troy State College (now Troy University) but was denied because of segregation. Thereafter, he wrote to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who arranged to meet with him in Montgomery. King encouraged Lewis to become more active in the civil rights movement., Returning to Nashville, Lewis graduated from American Baptist and entered Fisk University. As a college student, he organized a series of sit-in at segregated lunch counters, during which he coined his motto on an activist's obligation to pursue “good trouble, necessary trouble.” In 1981 participated in the Freedom Rides challenging segregation at southern bus terminals. Although he endured numerous physical assaults throughout the 1960s, Lewis maintained his belief in the philosophy of nonviolence., In 1963, Lewis helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the student arm of King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference. As president of SNCC, Lewis assisted in the planning of the August 28, 1963, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and was the youngest speaker at the historic event., On March 7, 1965, Lewis and Hosea Williams led more than 500 activists as they set out from Selma for a march to Montgomery determined to raise awareness of persistent inequality at the ballot box. The marchers were met at the foot of Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge by sheriff's deputies and Alabama State Troopers assembled at the order of Gov. George C. Wallace. The armed officers assaulted the peaceful crowd with nightsticks, bullwhips, and tear gas. Dozens of participants were badly injured, including Lewis who suffered a skull fracture. Photographs and footage of the violent attack, which came to be known as "Bloody Sunday,” prompted federal protection for the marchers along their path to Alabama’s Capitol and led to congressional passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. , Lewis continued his civil rights work after the Selma march. In 1981, he won a seat on the Atlanta City Council. In 1986, he was elected to represent Georgia's Fifth Congressional District, a position he held until his death on July 17, 2020. During his tenure in Washington, Congressman Lewis advocated for the causes of equality, nonviolence, and justice, and supported African American history initiatives. In recognition of his lifelong commitment to civil and human rights, fellow lawmakers remembered him as the "conscience of the Congress."