John Lewis Research Paper

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

Even though his bible was important to him, Jim Lawson workshops shaped his beliefs of nonviolence and love, being the ultimate turning point. The workshops taught others how to react when someone was harassing them, physically or verbally. Lewis especially learned a lot through these workshops and what Lawson was preaching. He claimed, “His words liberated me. I thought this is it. This is the way out” (Lewis 78). See Figure1. Taking up a whole page in March, this picture shows Lewis gazing into the distance with the quote above him, almost as if he’s had a revelation. Through that moment, Lewis learned that nonviolent protest was the answer. Lewis was so moved by these workshops, he wanted to tell everyone, “I told my classmates. I told two of my closest friends Bernard Lafayette and James Bevel. I told everyone they should come to this workshop” (Lewis 79). Lewis really believed these workshops were the answer, he wanted everyone to attend and learn the ways of civil disobedience. To Lewis, this was the only answer.

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)

Knowing this man is to love this man. He has been a great role model for and during the civil rights movement and so much more. This man’s name is John Lewis Others may say he is someone who just wanted to start trouble and he should leave things the way they were. By analyzing his early life, his education, becoming a civil rights activist, and a U.S. Congressman, I will be able to show you why I think he is a great person all around. It is also clear that John Lewis shaped his time.

John Lewis initiates his claim by conveying that everyone in America should not tolerate racial segregation nor discrimination. In order to reach to his point, he uses the rhetorical device, pathos, in which it causes the “white” audience to feel remorse for what society has become. To illustrate this idea, Lewis reveals African Americans “live in constant fear of a police state”, “have been arrested on trumped charges”, and some faced “the death penalty for engaging in peaceful protest” (paragraph 2). The evidence highlights that they are going through hardships caused by the federal government because they are considered “inferior” compared to the “white” race. From this, readers can infer that white supremacy is being marked on the walls. Lewis is able to awaken Americans so they can realize how their actions are wounding African Americans. In addition, Lewis is representing the African American community so they can feel inspired to join the Civil Rights Movement. Possibly the speaker is trying to drag the African Americans out of their state of oblivion by incentivizing them to defend their rights. Lewis is addressing the problems to both audiences so they can feel the urge to fix them. Therefore, Lewis’ remarks in the first paragraph reveal that he identifies with the concerns of African Americans and how whites, mainly activists, should focus on addressing their issues.

Meriwether Lewis, an adventures, courageous, and outgoing man. He was an explorer who is most known for exploring the western part of America, after the Louisiana purchase. This report is going to be about Meriwether Lewis and the amazing things he did in his lifetime, from walking around 2,500 miles to killing a bear.

Although they had enough money to purchase a ticket, they were still denied for being someone of color and would peacefully go back to the end of the line to wait and try again. These protests continued every night for about two weeks. The local white teenagers begun to spit and throw rocks at the students within the movement that were standing in line. The local teenagers weren’t the only ones though, the police had stepped in and ended up being violent towards the students too. The following night after the police abused two students, John Lewis led a protest. They had all stood in a line in front of the theatre, holding hands peacefully, but once the police arrived, twenty-six people were arrested. Because of this arrest, Lewis had spent his twenty-first birthday in jail. Later that same year, they had successfully ended segregation in movie theatres through persistent nonviolent

“There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time”-Malcolm X. In every movement men and women have crossed paths with others that share their goals, but not everyone shares the same path to achieve it. The civil rights movement of the nineteen fifties and sixties were no different in this case, while many shared the common goal of equality for all, not everyone shared the same style or belief system to achieve it creating sources of conflict within various civil rights organizations as well as between organizations. Freedom activists, Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael sharing the same goal as other civil rights leaders John Lewis

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.

Nearly three centuries ago, black men and women from Africa were brought to America and put into slavery. They were treated more cruelly in the United States than in any other country that had practiced slavery. African Americans didn’t gain their freedom until after the Civil War, nearly one-hundred years later. Even though African Americans were freed and the constitution was amended to guarantee racial equality, they were still not treated the same as whites and were thought of as second class citizens. One man had the right idea on how to change America, Martin Luther King Jr. had the best philosophy for advancing civil rights, he preached nonviolence to express the need for change in America and he united both African Americans

A lot of acts happened during the civil rights movements. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the main host of most of the acts that happened during this time. He dedicated a decade of his life to see if he could pursuit racial equality and social justice. He fought for what he believe in and that’s what I think most of us individuals need to do for change to

John Lewis spares his experience going to jail as seen when Lewis goes to prison for the first time. Lewis states, "Surrounded by so many of our Friends, we felt like prisoners in a holy war." (Lewis and Aydin 1: 104). In other words, Lewis describes the jail as being a prisoner in a war. Lewis going to jail made them protest all the more by Lewis saying; "We weren't about to cooperate in any way with the system allowing the very discrimination, we were protesting." (Lewis and Aydin 1: 105). In other words, John Lewis believes they were all still protesting even in jail until Lewis and the prisoners were released later that night. After they left the jail the next morning Dr. Wright, the College President at Fisk University, was the first black man to take a stand in the country against the

Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18, 1772 on a plantation in Almarle County, Virginia. Merriweather Lewis was born to Lucy and William Lewis. Lucy was a skilled cook and his father was a solider. His father, William Lewis died when Merriweather was 5 years old. His father was an officer in the Revolutionary War who passed away from pneumonia after crossing a freezing river. Meriwether Lewis mother remarried Captain John Marks and moved down to Broad River Valley, Georgia. The geography in Georgia was perfect for exploring the outdoors. Lewis was such an enthusat of the outdoor that he would go out at night and hunt when he was only 8 years old. When he was 14 he decided to return home and get formal education. He later left

John Lewis begins his remarks by revealing his attitude that civil rights leaders should not congratulate themselves yet and that there is still a long road before Africans Americans have true freedom. To immediately complicate the notion of being satisfied with the progress of the civil rights movement that other speakers proclaimed, he announces, “We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of” (para 1). The essence of Lewis’ argument is that the leaders of the civil rights movement are marching for workplace fairness and equality for African Americans, but they should not stop and congratulate themselves. Significantly, this opening statement reveals the difference of beliefs that Lewis had compared to some of the older leaders in the movement who wanted to discuss how far civil rights have progressed. To further demonstrate this idea, Lewis states, “While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in... Mississippi...working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day. While we stand here there are students in jail on trumped-up charges” (para 1). In this illustration, Lewis highlights the dissimilarities between those at home who are experiencing low wages and unfair hours or are imprisoned on false charges to those who are standing there in

He lived in Ashford, United Kingdom almost all his life. In 1630 at only 13