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Birth
Born near Troy Alabama, son of black sharecroppers.
https://www.ajc.com/news/john-lewis-the-boy-from-troy/FPQXUXXHMZEUVCX3HORKOHCYHM/ -
Lewis meets MLK Jr. for the first time
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Starts College in Nashville, TN
Lewis attended American Baptist College to study politics and religion. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2020/07/18/john-lewis-death-long-civil-rights-legacy-began-nashville/5464295002/ https://abcnash.edu/johnlewis/ -
Freedom Ride of 1961
Lewis participated in these freedom rides alongside other civil rights activists to protest racial segregation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/us/politics/freedom-riders-john-lewis-work.html#:~:text=Representative%20John%20Lewis%20was%20among,challenging%20the%20nation's%20segregation%20laws.&text=Representative%20John%20Lewis%2C%20who%20died,and%20the%20civil%20rights%20movement. -
Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
This role helped register African Americans to vote. Eight months later, he was arrested for more than 40 times for his civil rights activities in Selma, AL. https://snccdigital.org/people/john-lewis/
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/sncc
https://www.history.com/news/john-lewis-civil-rights-arrests -
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Lewis & MLKJR gave a keynote speechs at this march alongside MLK and other activists. MLK Jr. gave his "I Have A Dream Speech" at this demonstration. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/march-washington-jobs-and-freedom#:~:text=On%2028%20August%201963%2C%20more,civil%20rights%20bill%20in%20Congress. https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/lewis-speech-at-the-march-on-washington-speech-text/ https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety -
Bloody Sunday
As Lewis lead a voting right march of 600, he was beaten by a AL state trooper. The march continued into Montgomery, AL into a violent confrontation called Bloody Sunday. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bloody-sunday-civil-rights-protesters-beaten-selma https://www.history.com/news/selma-bloody-sunday-attack-civil-rights-movement https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/eyewitness/html.php?section=2 -
Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march
Lewis participated with thousands of others in this march. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/civil-rights/selma https://www.nps.gov/places/alabama-the-selmatomontgomery-march.htm -
Lewis starts a family
John and Lillian met at a New Year's Eve party. They married in 1968 and then adopted a son, John-Miles Lewis, in 1976 https://www.ajc.com/news/local-obituaries/lillian-miles-lewis-wife-adviser-rep-john-lewis/xVff5GSZZAiolGRhhj765O/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-lewis-funeral-wife-lillian-miles-sweet-love-story-shared-by-xernona-clayton/ -
Executive director of the Voter Education Project
Lewis takes this position as a part of the Southern Regional Council. https://glamportal.auctr.edu/exhibits/show/johnlewisblackempowerment/johnlewisblackempowermentvep -
Appointed as director of ACTION
ACTION is a federal volunteer agency that Lewis was appointed to be over. This happened after he ran for Congress in Metro Atlanta and lost. https://www.aclu.org/congressman-john-lewis -
Elected a member of the Atlanta City Council
Lewis served in this position until 1986 https://www.governing.com/now/john-lewiss-legacy-of-good-trouble.html -
Elected as Georgia's 5th district Congress representative
Lewis was re-elected 16 times for this position https://achievement.org/achiever/congressman-john-r-lewis/
https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/16948 -
JFK Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement Award
Lewis won this award, a multitude of honors, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor, all presented by President Barack Obama. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/18/rep-john-lewis-barack-obamas-medal-freedom-speech/5464160002/ https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/campaign/medal-of-freedom -
Arrested for demonstration at Sudan Embassy
Lewis and four others were arrested in Washington for protesting the expulsion of aid workers amid humanitarian crisis'. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2009/04/five-lawmakers-arrested-in-darfur-protest/16723/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/28/congressmen-arrest-sudan-embassy-darfur -
Commemoration of Bloody Sunday's 50th anniversary
Lewis joined Obama, George Bush, and thousands of others in Selma, AL to commemorate this horrific event. https://www.ajc.com/news/five-things-know-about-congressman-john-lewis/uzHfUBLepoRaRnwvjlmpkK/ https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/civil-rights/selma
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/thousands-join-second-day-of-selma-remembrances/2015/03/08/60d6784c-c5da-11e4-a199-6cb5e63819d2_story.html -
Democratic sit-in to protest inaction on Gun Control
Lewis lead a democratic sit-in on the House floor to protest the inaction surrounding gun control measures. -
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Death
Lewis dies at the age of 80. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/us/john-lewis-live-funeral.html https://www.ajc.com/news/who-will-speak-at-john-lewis-funeral/CIUUYQ4XPRDFXM3QRVHSRIDQSI/ https://www.ajc.com/john-lewis/john-lewis-last-words/GGQ6MKJTIBHGHJ7RQXZVLQFHUA/ https://www.npr.org/2020/07/30/895152469/john-lewis-towering-civil-rights-icon-to-be-memorialized-at-atlanta-funeral https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/31/politics/john-lewis-atlanta-funeral-service/index.html