John Lewis: Civil Rights Activist

Some lessons never die. Mahatma Gandhi died nearly seventy years ago, and Jesus Christ died over two-thousand years ago; yet their powerful message lives on. One example of someone who was deeply touched by the teaching of Gandhi and Christ is John Lewis. In March: Book One and March: Book Two, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, we can clearly see how Lewis incorporated Christianity and Gandhi's ideas of peaceful protest into the civil rights movement. The books tell an eventful story of John Lewis' life. As Lewis grew up, his faith strengthened and he began involving himself in the civil rights movement. He played a major role in desegregating department store lunch counters, buses, and giving voting rights to people of color by

Another important turning point in Lewis life was when he decided not to go to college. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go to college, but that Lewis felt that helping others were more important. On his application for the freedom riders, he wrote, “I know that education is important and I hope to get one, but human dignity is the most important thing in my life.” (Lewis 30) In other words, Lewis was willing to put his entire life on hold in able to help others and stand up for what he believed in. After being told no by his parents, he said, “In Nashville I’d meet people who opened my eyes to a sense of values that would forever dominate my moral philosophy—the way of peace, the way of love, the way of nonviolence.” (Lewis 70) So although Lewis didn’t get to

Lewis, however, highlights these people whose lives will be greatly affected by decisions about and fights for civil rights so that those who are marching remember that the fight continues and has real consequences. Therefore, Lewis’ remarks in the first paragraph demonstrate that he identifies with the concerns of grassroots activists across the country who could not attend the march, and he explains that he has doubts about this march doing enough if the movement does not focus more on the grassroots efforts of its members. (Ms. Pruden)

The marchers gathered at the Washington Monument before dawn as planned on August 28, 1963. At 11:30, 100,000 to 200,000 of them began marching towards the Lincoln Memorial singing “We Shall Overcome” (“The March on Washington” 12). At the memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered multiple speeches along with other African Americans about segregation and discrimination issues. During one of his speeches, King Jr. declared that “we will not hate you, but we cannot obey your unjust laws. Do to us what you will and we will still love you…But we will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer. And in winning our freedom, we will so appeal to your heart and conscience, that we will win you in the process” (“Negro Protest Movement” 507). This statement by King Jr. describes his plans of further nonviolent protesting against “unjust laws” to convince others of the civil rights movement’s cause. He furthers this statement and elaborates his ideas in his infamous speech, “I Have a Dream.”

It was after a group of young men start attacking to part of John Lewis’s group and eventually beating up everyone around. He declares, “I was not afraid. I felt free, liberated like I had crossed over” (Lewis and Aydin 1:102). The beginning of new era had begun, a new John Lewis who was not afraid of anything. His commitment with the movement was unparalleled. It shows how strong his personality is, maybe he is trying to say that nothing was going to stop him…. What was the worst thing that could happen to him? Go to jail? Again? Seems like he is always going to make his best effort to make this country a little bit better… just like he says, “We wanted to change America – to make it something different, something better.” (Lewis and Aydin 1:103). It was not about him or a reduced group of people, it was about an oppressed community that was suffering injustice as we can’t even imagine. Lewis also says, “The first of many” (Lewis and Aydin 1:103). Just in case we did not understand his first message, this one was clear and loud, he will keep protesting no matter what or who. Unfortunately, his parents did not in the same way as he did with the news of his first arrest. He tells us, “When my parents found out I’d been arrested and gone to jail, they were devastated. I was an embarrassment, a source of

As a child, John Lewis grew up on his father's 100 acre farm in Pike County, Alabama. Lewis states

For those who don’t know Lewis Howard Latimer you missed out on a lot. One the greatest inventors that no one really talks about, he was in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1848, whose parents had fled slavery. He was the youngest out of four children born to George and Rebecca Latimer.

Listening to Martin Luther King’s speech changed the way Lewis viewed everyday activities, he felt like he was not doing his part by sitting on the sidelines. “Dr. King’s message hit me like a bolt of lightning. He applied the principles of the church to what was happening now, Today. It was called the Social Gospel and I felt like he was preaching directly to me.” (Lewis Aydin 56). Lewis could not get enough information on MLK, he had to go to the library and look up everything he could about this man. This changed Lewis by opening his eyes to a bigger better world. He felt that MLK was different from any other leader and that’s exactly what Lewis wanted to do, but didn’t know how so his uncle took him on a trip to Buffalo.

Every person experiences specific points in their life that shapes who they are. This can be exhibited in the book March. Throughout the book the life events of John Lewis are displayed and it is clear to see that these events changed him. Even though many of the events in his life may have changed John Lewis, the turning points in John Lewis' life helped make him a more inspired man and more influential in the civil rights movement. John Lewis receives a bible, goes on to be inspired by MLK’s speech, gets arrested for his protests, and stops going home to his family as much all of which motivated him to help and support the civil rights movement.

The social gospel was the biggest inspiration and influence for Civil Rights leader, John Lewis. Which is prevalent throughout the first two books, of the March trilogy, written by Andrew Aydin and John Lewis himself. The Bible made its mark on Lewis when he was young farm boy. Leading him to the social gospel which started him down the path of nonviolence, and longing not just for personal reform but for social reform. As the Civil Rights movements became bigger, and as the philosophy of which John Lewis taught spread, others were inspired by the social gospel.

During the civil rights era, there were many iconic figures who created everlasting change. Although there were many individuals who did such thing, there were certain people who caused more of a major impact than others during this time in history. One of those icons were John Lewis, who teamed up with Andrew Aydin to create the March trilogy. These pieces examined John Lewis himself and his path throughout the civil rights movement. There were numerous factors that led John Lewis to become the civil rights activist that he became. Some may argue that every factor helped him in an equal way. However, I believe that although every factor helped drive him to become who he set out

Am I the only one to think it is somewhat odd that Bernie supporters point out over and over again how Bernie was arrested in 1963 protesting segregation in Chicago when he was a student over 50 yrs ago? By the way, he got asked to leave school because he couldn't keep his grades up that year as well – Does that 1 event make him a poor student? They show pictures [1 arrest in Aug 1963, does not make you an activist], and say this shows how he is for equality. But I think it is significant that John Lewis does not back him. The black leaders in his own home state say that they have been invisible to him, how he has turned a blind eye to their needs. If he was so “gung-ho” on the idea of racial equality, why hasn't he done anything about it

On August 28, 1963 more than 250,000 civil-rights supporters attended the March on Washington. Addressing the protesters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Profoundly, he proclaimed for a free nation of equality where all race would join together in the effort to achieve common ground. King stated his yearning for all colors to unite and be judged by character, not by race. African Americans would not be satisfied until their desire for freedom from persecution, bitterness, and hatred prevailed. Not only were the points in his speech powerful, but also the delivery he gave was so persuading and real

It was on the day of August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial where about 200,000 people or even more, gathered after the March on Washington. Dr. Martin Luther King administered his famous speech: I have a Dream to America. This is where he spoke about the inequity and segregation of African Americans. King incorporates the following rhetorical strategies: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos into his speech by showing the rest of America what was going on.

Andrew B. Lewis asserts in his book, The Shadows of Youth, that Julian Bond is one of the many significant figures of the civil rights movement. Throughout his time being an activist he had to overcome several hardships. Furthermore, he was involved in controversial events as an activist but always stayed true to his very own opinions. Between the 1950’s to present day, he made many accomplishments for young blacks in society, making him both an admirable and a key figure in the civil rights movement.