John Lewis #1379

Caption from poster__         From Freedom Rider to Congressman  John Lewis  Often called "one of the most courageous persons the civil rights movement ever produced," Congressman John Lewis of Georgia has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls "The Beloved Community" in America.    John Lewis (born into a family of Alabama sharecroppers) became active in the Civil Rights Movement while attending Fisk University, where he received a B.A. in religion and philosophy in 1963.  He organized sit-ins at segregated lunch counters and took part in the 1961 Freedom Rides through the Deep South.  A member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lewis became its chairman in 1963.  He was an organizer of the March on Washington in 1963, as well as one of its keynote speakers.  In 1965, on “Bloody Sunday”, he led marchers across the Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama, where state troopers violently attacked them.