A member of theDemocratic Party, Lewis was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986 and served 17 terms. The district he represented included most ofAtlanta. Due to his length of service, he became the dean of theGeorgia congressional delegation. He was one of the leaders of the Democratic Party in the House, serving from 1991 as achief deputy whip and from 2003 as asenior chief deputy whip. He received many honorary degrees and awards, including thePresidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
John Robert Lewis was born nearTroy, Alabama, on February 21, 1940, the third of ten children of Willie Mae (née Carter) and Eddie Lewis.[2][3][4] His parents weresharecroppers in ruralPike County, Alabama, of which Troy was the county seat.[5][6] His great-grandfather, Frank Carter, had been born enslaved in the same county in 1862, and lived until Lewis was seven years old.[7]
As a boy, Lewis aspired to be a preacher,[8] and at age five, he preached to his family's chickens on the farm.[9] As a young child, Lewis had little interaction withwhite people, as his county was majority black by a large percentage and his family worked as farmers. By the time he was six, Lewis had seen only two white people in his life.[10] Lewis recalls "I grew up in rural Alabama, very poor, very few books in our home."[11] He describes his early education at a little school, walking distances from his home. "A beautiful little building, it was aRosenwald School. It was supported by the community, it was the only school we had."[12] "I had a wonderful teacher in elementary school, and she told me 'read my child, read!' And I tried to read everything. I loved books. I remember in 1956, when I was 16 years old, with some of my brothers and sisters and cousins, going down to the public library, trying to get a library card, and we were told the library was for whites only and not for coloreds."[13] As he grew older, he began taking trips into Troy with his family, where he continued to have experiences of racism and segregation.[14][15][16] Lewis had relatives who lived in northern cities, and he learned from them that in the North, schools, buses, and businesses were integrated. When Lewis was 11, an uncle took him toBuffalo, New York, where he became acutely aware of the contrast with Troy's segregation.[17]
In 1955, Lewis first heardMartin Luther King Jr. on the radio,[18] and he closely followed King'sMontgomery bus boycott later that year.[19] At age 15, Lewis preached his first public sermon.[9] At 17, Lewis metRosa Parks, notable for her role in the bus boycott, and met King for the first time at the age of 18.[20] In later years, Lewis also credited evangelistBilly Graham, a friend of King's, as someone who "helped change me".[21][22] Lewis also stated that Graham inspired him "to a significant degree" to fulfill his aspirations of becoming a minister.[21][22]
After writing to King about being denied admission toTroy University in Alabama, Lewis was invited to meet with him. King, who referred to Lewis as "the boy from Troy", discussed suing the university for discrimination, but he warned Lewis that doing so could endanger his family in Troy. After discussing it with his parents, Lewis decided instead to proceed with his education at a small,historically black college in Tennessee.[23]
Civil rights leaders meet with President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson after theMarch on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 1963. Lewis is fourth from left.
As a student, Lewis became an activist in the civil rights movement. He organizedsit-ins at segregated lunch counters in Nashville and took part in many other civil rights activities as part of theNashville Student Movement. TheNashville sit-in movement was responsible for the desegregation of lunch counters in the city's downtown. Lewis was arrested and jailed many times during thenonviolent activities to desegregate the city's downtown businesses.[26] He was also instrumental in organizing bus boycotts and other nonviolent protests to support voting rights and racial equality.[27]
During this time, Lewis said it was important to engage in "good trouble, necessary trouble" in order to achieve change, and he held to this credo throughout his life.[28]
While a student, Lewis was invited to attendnonviolence workshops held at Clark Memorial United Methodist Church by the Rev.James Lawson and Rev.Kelly Miller Smith. Lewis and other students became dedicated to the discipline and philosophy of nonviolence, which he practiced for the rest of his life.[29]
In 1961, Lewis became one of the 13 originalFreedom Riders.[5][30] The group of seven blacks and six whites planned to ride on interstate buses from Washington, D.C. toNew Orleans to challenge the policies of Southern states along the route that had imposed segregated seating on the buses, which violated federal policy for interstate transportation. The "Freedom Ride", originated by theFellowship of Reconciliation and revived byJames Farmer and theCongress of Racial Equality (CORE), was initiated to pressure the federal government to enforce the Supreme Court decision inBoynton v. Virginia (1960), which declared segregated interstate bus travel to be unconstitutional. The Freedom Rides revealed the passivity of the local, state, and federal governments in the face of violence against law-abiding citizens.[31] The project was publicized and organizers had notified the Department of Justice about it. It relied upon theAlabama police to protect the riders, even though the state was known for notorious racism, and did not undertake actions except assigningFBI agents to record incidents. After extreme violence broke out inSouth Carolina and Alabama, theKennedy Administration called for a "cooling-off" period, with a moratorium on Freedom Rides.[32]
In the South, Lewis and other nonviolent Freedom Riders were beaten by angry mobs and arrested. At age 21, Lewis was the first of the Freedom Riders to be assaulted while inRock Hill, South Carolina. When he tried to enter a whites-only waiting room, two white men attacked him, injuring his face and kicking him in the ribs. Two weeks later Lewis joined a Freedom Ride bound forJackson, Mississippi. Near the end of his life, Lewis said of this time, "We were determined not to let any act of violence keep us from our goal. We knew our lives could be threatened, but we had made up our minds not to turn back."[33] As a result of his Freedom Rider activities, Lewis was imprisoned for 40 days in the notoriousMississippi State Penitentiary inSunflower County.[34]
In an interview withCNN during the 40th anniversary of the Freedom Rides, Lewis recounted the violence he and the 12 other original Freedom Riders endured. InBirmingham, the Riders were beaten by an unrestrained mob including KKK members (notified of their arrival by police) with baseball bats, chains, lead pipes, and stones. The police arrested them, and led them across the border into Tennessee before letting them go. The Riders reorganized and rode toMontgomery, where they were met with more violence at thelocal Greyhound station.[35] There Lewis was hit in the head with a wooden crate. "It was very violent. I thought I was going to die. I was left lying at the Greyhound bus station in Montgomery unconscious", said Lewis, remembering the incident.[36]
When CORE gave up on the Freedom Ride because of the violence, Lewis and fellow activistDiane Nash arranged for Nashville students from Fisk and other colleges to take it over and bring it to a successful conclusion.[37][38]
In February 2009, 48 years after the Montgomery attack, Lewis received a nationally televised apology from Elwin Wilson, a white southerner and formerKlansman.[39][40]
"Interview with John Lewis" pt.1 conducted in 1979 for America, They Loved You Madly, a precursor toEyes on the Prize in which he discusses the sit-ins in Nashville, the philosophy of non-violence, the Freedom Rides, his role in SNCC, and the March on Washington.
Leaders of the March on Washington, 1963. Lewis is second from right.
In 1963, whenCharles McDew stepped down as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lewis, a founding member, was elected to take over.[42][43] Lewis's experience was already widely respected. His courage and tenacious adherence to the philosophy of reconciliation and nonviolence had enabled him to emerge as a leader. He had already been arrested 24 times in the nonviolent movement for equal justice.[44] Lewis was the youngest of the "Big Six" leaders who were organizing theMarch on Washington that summer.[45] He was the fourth of 12 speakers on the program that day, which ended with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s now-famous "I Have a Dream" speech.A. Philip Randolph preceded Lewis.James Farmer,Whitney Young, andRoy Wilkins spoke between Lewis and King.
Lewis had written a response toKennedy's 1963 Civil Rights Bill. Lewis and his fellow SNCC workers had suffered from the federal government's passivity in the face of Southern violence.[32] He planned to denounce Kennedy's bill for failing to provide protection for African Americans againstpolice brutality, or to provide African Americans with the means to vote; he described the bill as "too little and too late". Advance copies of the speech were distributed on August 27 but encountered opposition from the other chairs of the march who demanded revisions.James Forman rapidly re-wrote the speech, replacing Lewis's initial assertion "we cannot support, wholeheartedly the [Kennedy] civil rights bill" with "We support it with great reservations."[46]
After Lewis, Dr. King gave his now celebrated "I Have a Dream" speech.[47][48][49] HistorianHoward Zinn later wrote of this occasion:
At the great Washington March of 1963, the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), John Lewis, speaking to the same enormous crowd that [next] heard King's "I Have a Dream" speech, was prepared to ask the right question: 'Which side is the federal government on?' That sentence was eliminated from his speech by the other organizers of the March to avoid offending the Kennedy Administration.
Lewis in 1964
In 1964, SNCC openedFreedom Schools, launched the MississippiFreedom Summer for voter education and registration.[50] Lewis coordinated SNCC's efforts for Freedom Summer, a campaign to register black voters in Mississippi and to engage college student activists in aiding the campaign. Lewis traveled the country, encouraging students to spend their summer break trying to help people vote in Mississippi, which had the lowest number of black voters and strong resistance to the movement.[51]
In 1965 Lewis organized some of the voter registration efforts during the 1965Selma voting rights campaign, and became nationally known during his prominent role in theSelma to Montgomery marches.[52] On March 7, 1965 – a day that would become known as "Bloody Sunday" – Lewis and fellow activistHosea Williams led over 600 marchers across theEdmund Pettus Bridge inSelma, Alabama. At the end of the bridge and the city-county boundary, they were met byAlabama State Troopers who ordered them to disperse. When the marchers stopped to pray, the police dischargedtear gas and mounted troopers charged the demonstrators, beating them with nightsticks. Lewis's skull was fractured, but he was aided in escaping across the bridge toBrown Chapel, a church in Selma that served as the movement's headquarters.[53] Lewis bore scars on his head from this incident for the rest of his life.[54]
In 1966, Lewis moved to New York City to take a job as the associate director of theField Foundation of New York.[57][58] He was there a little over a year before moving back to Atlanta to direct theSouthern Regional Council's Community Organization Project.[59][58] During his time with the Field Foundation, he completed his degree from Fisk University.[60]
In 1970, Lewis became the director of theVoter Education Project (VEP), a position he held until 1977.[61] Though initially a project of the Southern Regional Council, the VEP became an independent organization in 1971.[62] Despite difficulties caused by the1973–1975 recession,[62] the VEP added nearly four million minority voters to the rolls under Lewis's leadership.[63] During his tenure, the VEP expanded its mission, including running Voter Mobilization Tours.[62]
After his unsuccessful bid, Lewis accepted a position with the Carter administration as associate director ofACTION, responsible for running theVISTA program, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, and theFoster Grandparent Program. He held that job for two and a half years, resigning as the 1980 election approached.[66]
In 1981, Lewis ran for an at-large seat on theAtlanta City Council. He won with 69% of the vote,[67] and served on the council until 1986.[68]
After nine years as a member of theU.S. House of Representatives, Wyche Fowler gave up the seat to make a successful run for the U.S. Senate. Lewis decided to run for the 5th district again. In the August Democratic primary, where a victory was consideredtantamount to election, State SenatorJulian Bond ranked first with 47%, just three points shy of winning outright. Lewis finished in second place with 35%.[69] In the run-off, Lewis pulled an upset against Bond, defeating him 52% to 48%.[70] The race was said to have "badly strained relations in Atlanta's black community" as many Black leaders had supported Bond over Lewis.[71] Lewis was "endorsed by the Atlanta newspapers and a favorite of the white liberal establishment".[72] His victory was due to strong results among white voters (a minority in the district).[72] During the campaign, he ran advertisements accusing Bond of corruption, implying that Bond usedcocaine, and suggesting that Bond had lied about his civil rights activism.[72]
1986 Georgia's 5th Congressional District Democratic Primary Runoff Election results by precinct
Lewis
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90-100%
Bond
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90-100%
No Vote
In the November general election, Lewis defeated Republican Portia Scott 75% to 25%.[73]
Lewis was reelected 18 times, dropping below 70 percent of the vote in the general election only once in 1994, when he defeated Republican Dale Dixon by a 38-point margin, 69%–31%.[74] He ran unopposed in 1996,[75] 2004,[76] 2006,[77] and 2008,[78] and again in 2014 and 2018.[79][80]
He was challenged in the Democratic primary just twice: in 1992 and 2008. In 1992, he defeated State RepresentativeMable Thomas 76%–24%.[81] In 2008, Thomas decided to challenge Lewis again; Markel Hutchins also contested the race. Lewis defeated Hutchins and Thomas 69%–16%–15%.[82]
Lewis representedGeorgia's 5th congressional district, one of the most consistently Democratic districts in the nation. Since its formalization in 1845, the district has been represented by a Democrat for most of its history.
Lewis was one of the most liberal congressmen to have represented a district in the Deep South. He was categorized as a "Hard-Core Liberal" byOn the Issues.[83]The Washington Post described Lewis in 1998 as "a fiercely partisan Democrat but ... also fiercely independent".[84] Lewis characterized himself as a strong and adamantliberal.[84]The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Lewis was the "only former major civil rights leader who extended his fight for human rights and racial reconciliation to the halls of Congress".[85]The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also said that to "those who know him, from U.S. senators to 20-something congressional aides", he is called the "conscience of Congress".[85] Lewis cited Florida Senator and later RepresentativeClaude Pepper, a staunch liberal, as being the colleague whom he most admired.[86] Lewis also spoke out in support ofgay rights andnational health insurance.[84]
Lewis opposed the 1991Gulf War,[87][88] and the 2000 U.S. trade agreement with China that passed the House.[89] He opposed theClinton administration onNAFTA andwelfare reform.[84] After welfare reform passed, Lewis was described as outraged; he said, "Where is the sense of decency? What does it profit a great nation to conquer the world, only to lose its soul?"[90] In 1994, whenClinton considered invading Haiti, Lewis opposed armed intervention.[91] After a non-violent transition of power was negotiated, Lewis supported the presence of U.S. troops in Haiti as part ofOperation Uphold Democracy, calling the operation a "mission of peace".[92][93] In 1998, when Clinton was considering a military strike against Iraq, Lewis said he would back the president if American forces were ordered into action.[94] In 2001, three days after theSeptember 11 attacks, Lewis voted to give PresidentGeorge W. Bush authority to use force against the perpetrators of9/11 in avote that was 420–1; Lewis called it probably one of his toughest votes.[95] In 2002, he sponsored thePeace Tax Fund bill, aconscientious objection to military taxation initiative that had been reintroduced yearly since 1972.[96] Lewis was a "fierce partisan critic of President Bush", and an early opponent of theIraq War.[85][97] TheAssociated Press said he was "the first major House figure to suggestimpeaching George W. Bush", arguing that the president "deliberately, systematically violated the law" in authorizing theNational Security Agency toconduct wiretaps without a warrant. Lewis said, "He is not king, he is president."[98]
Lewis drew on his historical involvement in theCivil Rights Movement as part of his politics. He made an annual pilgrimage to Alabama to retrace the route he marched in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery – a route Lewis worked to make part of theHistoric National Trails program. That trip became "one of the hottest tickets in Washington among lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, eager to associate themselves with Lewis and the movement. 'We don't deliberately set out to win votes, but it's very helpful", Lewis said of the trip'."[85][99] In recent years, however,Faith and Politics Institute drew criticism for selling seats on the trip to lobbyists for at least $25,000 each. According to theCenter for Public Integrity, even Lewis said that he would feel "much better" if the institute's funding came from churches and foundations instead of corporations.[100]
On June 3, 2011, the House passed a resolution 268–145, calling for a withdrawal of the United States military from theair and naval operations in and aroundLibya.[101] Lewis voted against the resolution.[102]
In a 2002 op-ed, Lewis mentioned a response by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to ananti-Zionist student at a 1967 Harvard meeting, quoting "When people criticizeZionists they mean Jews, you are talkinganti-Semitism." In describing the special relationship between African Americans and American Jews in working for liberation and peace, he also gave other statements by King to the same effect, including one from March 25, 1968: "Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality."[103]
Lewis "strongly disagreed" with the movement forBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel and co-sponsored a resolution condemning the pro-Palestinian group, but he supported RepresentativesIlhan Omar andRashida Tlaib's House resolution opposingU.S. anti-boycott legislation banning the boycott of Israel. He explained his support as "a simple demonstration of my ongoing commitment to the ability of every American to exercise the fundamentalFirst Amendment right to protest through nonviolent actions".[104]
In March 2003, Lewis spoke to a crowd of 30,000 in Oregon during an anti-war protest before the start of theIraq War.[107] In 2006[108] and 2009 he was arrested for protesting against thegenocide in Darfur outside the Sudanese embassy.[109] He was one of eight U.S. Representatives, from six states, arrested while holding a sit-in near the west side of theU.S. Capitol building, to advocate for immigration reform.[110]
At first, Lewis supportedHillary Clinton, endorsing her presidential campaign on October 12, 2007.[111] On February 14, 2008, however, he announced he was considering withdrawing his support from Clinton and might instead cast hissuperdelegate vote forBarack Obama: "Something is happening in America and people are prepared and ready to make that great leap."[112]Ben Smith ofPolitico said that "it would be a seminal moment in the race if John Lewis were to switch sides."[113]
On February 27, 2008, Lewis formally changed his support and endorsed Obama.[114][115] After Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for president, Lewis said "If someone had told me this would be happening now, I would have told them they were crazy, out of their mind, they didn't know what they were talking about ... I just wish the others were around to see this day. ... To the people who were beaten, put in jail, were asked questions they could never answer to register to vote, it's amazing."[116] Despite switching his support to Obama, Lewis drew criticism from his constituents for his support of Clinton for several months. One of his challengers in the Houseprimary election set up campaign headquarters inside the building that served as Obama's Georgia office.[117]
In October 2008, Lewis issued a statement criticizing the presidential campaign ofJohn McCain and his running mateSarah Palin and accusing them of "sowing the seeds of hatred and division" in a way that brought to mind the late Gov.George Wallace and "another destructive period" in American political history. McCain said he was "saddened" by the criticism from "a man I've always admired", and called on Obama to repudiate Lewis's statement. Obama responded to the statement, saying that he "does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or hissegregationist policies".[118] Lewis later issued a follow-up statement clarifying that he had not compared McCain and Palin to Wallace himself, but rather that his earlier statement was a "reminder to all Americans that toxic language can lead to destructive behavior".[119]
On an African American being elected president, he said:
If you ask me whether the election ... is the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream, I say, 'No, it's just a down payment.' There's still too many people 50 years later, there's still too many people that are being left out and left behind.[120]
After Obama's swearing-in ceremony as president, Lewis asked him to sign a commemorative photograph of the event. Obama signed it, "Because of you, John. Barack Obama."[121]
In 1988, the year after he was sworn into Congress, Lewis introduced a bill to create a national African American museum in Washington. The bill failed, and for 15 years he continued to introduce it with each new Congress. Each time it was blocked in the Senate, most often by conservative Southern SenatorJesse Helms. In 2003, Helms retired. The bill won bipartisan support, and President George W. Bush signed the bill to establish the museum, with theSmithsonian's Board of Regents to establish the location. TheNational Museum of African American History and Culture, located adjacent to theWashington Monument, held its opening ceremony on September 25, 2016.[123]
Lewis supportedHillary Clinton in the2016 Democratic presidential primaries againstBernie Sanders. Regarding Sanders' role in thecivil rights movement, Lewis remarked "To be very frank, I never saw him, I never met him. I chaired theStudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee for three years, from 1963 to 1966. I was involved in sit-ins, in theFreedom Rides, theMarch on Washington, the March from Selma to Montgomery ... but I met Hillary Clinton". Former Congressman and Hawaii GovernorNeil Abercrombie wrote a letter to Lewis expressing his disappointment with Lewis's comments about Sanders. Lewis later clarified his statement, saying "During the late 1950s and 1960s when I was more engaged, [Sanders] was not there. I did not see him around. I have never seen him in the South. But if he was there, if he was involved someplace, I was not aware of it ... The fact that I did not meet him in the movement does not mean I doubted that Senator Sanders participated in the civil rights movement, neither was I attempting to disparage his activism."[124][125][126]
In a January 2016 interview, Lewis comparedDonald Trump, then theRepublican front-runner for the presidential nomination, to former Alabama GovernorGeorge Wallace: "I've been around a while and Trump reminds me so much of a lot of the things that George Wallace said and did. I thinkdemagogues are pretty dangerous, really ... We shouldn't divide people, we shouldn't separate people."[127]
On January 13, 2017, during an interview withNBC'sChuck Todd forMeet the Press, Lewis stated: "I don't see the president-elect as a legitimate president."[128] He added, "I think the Russians participated in having this man get elected, and they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. I don't plan to attend theinauguration. I think there was aconspiracy on the part of the Russians, and others, that helped him get elected. That's not right. That's not fair. That's not the open, democratic process."[129] Trump replied on Twitter the following day, suggesting that Lewis should "spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to [...] mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results", and accusing Lewis of being "All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad!"[130] Trump's statement about Lewis's district was rated as "Mostly False" byPolitiFact,[131] and he was criticized for attacking a civil rights leader such as Lewis, especially one who was brutally beaten for the cause, and especially onMartin Luther King weekend.[132][133][134] SenatorJohn McCain acknowledged Lewis as "an American hero" but criticized him, saying: "this is not the first time that Congressman Lewis has taken a very extreme stand and condemned without any shred of evidence for doing so an incoming president of the United States. This is a stain on Congressman Lewis's reputation – no one else's."[135]
A few days later, Lewis said that he would not attendTrump's inauguration because he did not believe that Trump was the true elected president. "It will be the first (inauguration) that I miss since I've been in Congress. You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong, is not right", he said. Lewis had failed to attendGeorge W. Bush's inauguration in 2001 because he believed that he too was not a legitimately elected president. Lewis's statement was rated as "Pants on Fire" by PolitiFact.[136][137][138]
Lewis endorsedJoe Biden for president on April 7, 2020, a day before Biden effectively secured the Democratic nomination. He recommended Biden pick a woman of color as his running mate.[139]
His life is also the subject of a 2002 book for young people,John Lewis: From Freedom Rider to Congressman. In 2012, Lewis releasedAcross That Bridge, written with Brenda Jones, to mixed reviews.Publishers Weekly's review said, "At its best, the book provides a testament to the power of nonviolence in social movements ... At its worst, it resembles an extended campaign speech."[153][154]
In 2013, Lewis became the first member of Congress to write agraphic novel, with the launch of a trilogy titledMarch. TheMarch trilogy is a black and white comics trilogy about theCivil Rights Movement, told through the perspective of civil rights leader and U.S. Congressman John Lewis. The first volume,March: Book One is written by Lewis andAndrew Aydin, illustrated and lettered byNate Powell and was published in August 2013,[155] the second volume,March: Book Two was published in January 2015 and the final volume,March: Book Three was published in August 2016.[156]
In 2018, Lewis andAndrew Aydin co-wrote another graphic novel as a sequel to theMarch series entitledRun, which documents Lewis's life after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. The authors teamed with illustratorAfua Richardson for the book, which was originally scheduled to be released in August 2018, but was later rescheduled.[168] It was released on August 3, 2021, a year after his death, as it was one of his last endeavours before he died.[169]Nate Powell, who illustratedMarch, also contributed to the art.[170]
Lewis met his future wife Lillian Miles at a New Year's Eve party hosted byXernona Clayton. Lillian worked for the library of Atlanta University at the time. The two of them married one year later in 1968.[171] In 1976, they had a son, who also works in politics. Lillian died on December 31, 2012, their 45th marriage anniversary[172]
On December 29, 2019, Lewis announced that he had been diagnosed with stage IVpancreatic cancer.[174][175] He remained in the Washington D.C. area for his treatment. Lewis stated: "I have been in some kind of fight – for freedom, equality, basic human rights – for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now."[176][177]
United States House of Representatives SpeakerNancy Pelosi and Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell announced that Lewis would lie in state in theUnited States Capitol Rotunda on July 27 and 28, with a public viewing and procession through Washington, D.C.[190] He is the first African-American lawmaker to be so honored in the Rotunda; in October 2019 his colleague, representativeElijah Cummings, lay in state in the Capitol Statuary Hall.[191] Health concerns related to the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic led to a decision to have his casket displayed outdoors on the East Front steps during the public viewing hours, rather than the usual line of people in the Rotunda filing past the casket to pay their respects.[192][193][194] On July 29, 2020, Lewis's casket left the U.S. Capitol and was transported back to Atlanta, Georgia, where he lay in state at theGeorgia State Capitol.[195]
Lewis penned an op-ed to the nation that was published inThe New York Times on the day of his funeral.[198] In it, he called on the younger generation to continue the work for justice and an end to hate.[199]
In 2001, theJohn F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded Lewis theProfile in Courage Award "for his extraordinary courage, leadership and commitment to civil rights".[201] However, it was not the regular award, but rather a special Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement[202] which has been given out only twice, John Lewis andWilliam Winter (in 2008). The next year he was awarded theSpingarn Medal from theNAACP.[203]
Lewis was the only living speaker from theMarch on Washington present on the stage during theinauguration of Barack Obama. Obama signed a commemorative photograph for Lewis with the words, "Because of you, John. Barack Obama."[121]
On June 23, 2020, the Fairfax County Public School Board voted to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School to John R. Lewis High School which is located in Springfield, Virginia. A program called John Lewis Now was created in his vision to provide students with in-school curriculum and out-of-school experiences in leadership and government utilizing the nearby Washington D.C. area.[227]
Following his death,Troy University announced that the main building on its flagship campus would bear the name of John Lewis. The building, which was the oldest on campus, was previously named afterBibb Graves, a former governor of Alabama and high-ranking officer of the Ku Klux Klan.[232]
On August 1, 2020, astatue of Lewis was revealed by sculptor Gregory Johnson. The statue was commissioned byRodney Mims Cook Jr. and was installed at Cook Park in Atlanta, Georgia, in April 2021.[233][234]
On February 21, 2021, PresidentJoe Biden marked Lewis's late birthday onTwitter, urging all Americans to "carry on his mission in the fight for justice and equality for all." He tweeted, "While my dear friend may no longer be with us, his life and legacy provide an eternal moral compass on which direction to march. May we carry on his mission in the fight for justice and equality for all."[235]
Lewis attendedcomics conventions to promote his graphic novel, most notablySan Diego Comic-Con, which he attended in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017. During the 2015 convention, Lewis led, along with his graphic novel collaborators Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, an impromptu simulated Selma civil rights march arm in arm with children, during which he wore the same clothes as he did on Bloody Sunday, garnering thousands of con goers to participate. The event became so popular it was repeated in 2016 and 2017.[300][301]
Reporting Civil Rights: American Journalism 1963–1973 (Library of America: 2003)ISBN1-931082-29-4
Lewis, John; D'Orso, Michael (1999).Walking with the Wind. San Diego: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.ISBN0-15-600708-8. The U.S. Congressman tells of life in the trenches of the Civil Rights Movement, the numerous arrests, sit-ins, and marches that led to breaking down the barriers of discrimination in the South during the 1950s and 1960s.
John Lewis in the Lead: A Story of the Civil Rights Movement byJim Haskins and Kathleen Benson, illustrated byBenny Andrews, (Lee & Low Books: 2006)ISBN978-1-58430-250-6. A biography of John Lewis, one of the "Big Six" leaders who were chairman of activist groups organizing the 1963 March on Washington, focusing on his involvement inFreedom Rides, the March on Washington, and the march across theEdmund Pettus Bridge in the 1965Selma to Montgomery marches.
John Lewis: From Freedom Rider to Congressman by Christine M. Hill, (Enslow Publishers, Inc., 2002)ISBN0-7660-1768-0. A biography of John Lewis written for juvenile readers.
Across That Bridge by John Lewis with Brenda Jones, (Hyperion: 2012)ISBN978-1-4013-2411-7. Winner of the 2013 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work/Biography. It is an accessible discussion of Lewis's philosophy and his viewpoint of the philosophical basis of the Civil Rights Movement.
^abReporting Civil Rights: American Journalism 1963–1973, Part TwoCarson, Clayborne,Garrow, David, Kovach, Polsgrove, Carol (Editorial Advisory Board), (Library of America: 2003)ISBN978-1-931082-29-7, pp. 15–16, 48, 56, 84, 323, 374, 384, 392, 491–94, 503, 505, 513, 556, 726, 751, 846, 873.
^Lewis, John.Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement. San Diego: Harcourt Brace. p. xv.
^Meacham, Jon (2020).His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope. New York, New York:Random House (published August 25, 2020). p. 19.ISBN978-1984855022.
^"John Lewis's March".American Libraries. American Library Association. June 30, 2013.ISSN0002-9769.Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. RetrievedDecember 31, 2019.
^abcdCarlson, Peter (June 9, 1998). "Nonviolent Fighter; John Lewis Retraces the Route That Led to the Future".The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. 01.
^abcdKemper, Bob (May 21, 2006). "John Lewis: 'Conscience' carries clout: Civil rights icon's moral authority enhanced".The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
^"Social programs: world report. The wreck of the gravy train".Canada and the World Backgrounder.62 (2). Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Taylor Publishing Consultants:3–34. October 1996.
^Schmickle, Sharon (September 16, 1994). "President faces strong opposition in Congress".Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 1.
^"Shared power, foreign policy, and Haiti, 1994. Public memories of war and race." Goodnight, G. Thomas; Olson, Kathryn M.;Rhetoric & Public Affairs 9. 4 (Winter 2006): 601–634.
^Sherman, Mark (February 12, 1998). "Georgia delegation divided on strategy; Some back force, others doubt military action is a real solution".The Atlanta Constitution. p. A14.
^Zeleny, Jeff; Healy, Patrick (February 15, 2008)."Black Leader, a Clinton Ally, Tilts to Obama".The New York Times.Archived from the original on March 11, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 17, 2017.Representative John Lewis said he planned to cast his vote as a superdelegate for Barack Obama in hopes of preventing a fight at the Democratic convention.
^Smith, Ben (February 15, 2008)."Awaiting Lewis".Politico.Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. RetrievedAugust 1, 2012.
^"Civil rights leader John Lewis switches to Obama".Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 28, 2008. Archived fromthe original on March 4, 2008. RetrievedFebruary 28, 2008.The Georgia congressman, who had previously endorsed Clinton, says he wants 'to be on the side of the people.'
^Panzar, Javier (January 23, 2016)."Rep. John Lewis speaks out against Trump's divisive rhetoric during L.A. visit".Los Angeles Times.Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. RetrievedFebruary 18, 2020.I've been around a while and Trump reminds me so much of a lot of the things that George Wallace said and did. I think demagogues are pretty dangerous, really [and] we shouldn't divide people, we shouldn't separate people.
^"2004 Summit Highlights Photo". 2004.Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. RetrievedDecember 11, 2020.Awards Council member and actor James Earl Jones presents the Academy's Golden Plate Award to Congressman John Lewis during the introductory evening of the 2004 International Achievement Summit in Chicago, Illinois.
^Bancroft, Ethan (October 1, 2021)."We are honored to build a bridge bearing John Lewis' name".SDOT Blog. Seattle Department of Transportation.Archived from the original on August 11, 2025. RetrievedAugust 10, 2025.Seattle is officially naming this new bridge the John Lewis Memorial Bridge to honor African American hero and Civil Rights icon John Lewis.
^Soergel, Allison (October 27, 2021)."UC Santa Cruz advances commitment to social justice with College 10 naming in honor of John R. Lewis".News University of Santa Cruz. University of Santa Cruz.Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. RetrievedOctober 27, 2021.The University of California at Santa Cruz announced today that College Ten—an undergraduate residential learning community founded on principles of social justice and community—will be named in honor of the late congressman and civil rights icon John R. Lewis.
^"Commencement Program, 1999".Open Archives: Digital Collections at the University of Massachusetts Boston. University of Massachusetts Boston.Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. RetrievedMay 26, 2017.
^"Yale awards honorary degrees to eight individuals for their achievements".Yale News. Yale University. May 18, 2017.Archived from the original on May 26, 2017. RetrievedMay 22, 2017.From Freedom Rider to statesman, you have championed civil rights and public service for six decades. You have faced beatings, violence, and intimidation with steadfast nonviolence ... Devoted champion of America and of all of its people, in recognition of a lifetime of bold action and inspiring results, we are honored to present you with this Doctor of Laws degree.
SNCC Digital Gateway: John Lewis, Documentary website created by the SNCC Legacy Project and Duke University, telling the story of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and grassroots organizing from the inside-out
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"Interview with John Lewis" pt.1 conducted in 1979 for America, They Loved You Madly, a precursor toEyes on the Prize in which he discusses the sit-ins in Nashville, the philosophy of non-violence, the Freedom Rides, his role in SNCC, and the March on Washington._-_NARA_-_542056.jpg)
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