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Juan Caudel
Professor Broschinsky
Political Science 1100
9 February 2016
Profile essay
John Lewis
John Lewis was born on February 21 of the year 1940 near Troy, Alabama during the
time of segregation between whites and blacks. As a young boy John Lewis was inspired by the
speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. and the activism around his hometown. According to John
Lewis, he new that during the Montgomery bus boycott he would have t act to see the changes he
wanted to see. (Lewis 2) When John Lewis told his Father and his mother that he wanted to join
Martin Luther King Jr. they told him no. John Lewis quotes, “When I was growing up, my
mother and father and family members said, 'don’t get in trouble. Don't get in the way.' I got in
trouble. I got in the way. It was necessary trouble.” (Lewis 1)
According the John Lewis biography, as he got older he left his hometown to attend an
American Baptist Theological Seminary in Tennessee. There he was apart of non-violent protest
and helped arrange sit-ins at local restaurants where they were arrested and beaten. In an
interview for his biography page John Lewis was asked what courage meant to him” he replied
with:
“ Courage is a reflection of the heart it is a reflection of something deep within the man
or woman or even a child who must resist and must defy an authority that is morally
wrong. Courage makes us march on despite fear and doubt on the road toward justice.
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Courage is not heroic but as necessary as birds need wings to fly. Courage is not rooted in
reason but rather Courage comes from a divine purpose to make things right.” (Lewis)
John Lewis later became one of the six major leaders in the civil rights movement in the
1960’s along side with Martin Luther King Jr., and James Farmer. John Lewis was appointed
Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the years of 1963 through
1966. Despite multiple death threats and physical abuse he still remained devoted to his
position. (Biography 2012)
Roll Call magazine has called John Lewis "the conscience of the U.S. Congress, and is a
genuine American hero and moral leader who commands widespread respect in the chamber.”
(Biography 2012) According to John Lewis’s biography, in 1981 he was elected council for
Atlanta city where he was an advocate for the ethnics in government and neighborhood
preservation.
When Barack Obama was sworn into presidency John Lewis said:
"When we were organizing voter-registration drives, going on the Freedom Rides, sitting
in, coming here to Washington for the first time, getting arrested, going to jail, being
beaten, I never thought—I never dreamed—of the possibility that an African American
would one day be elected president of the United States." (Lewis)
John Lewis has been awarded 50 honorary degrees from prestigious colleges and universities
throughout the United States. (Biography 2012) Later in his career John Lewis has also been
given prestigious awards like the highest civilian honor granted by President Barack Obama, the
Medal of Freedom, the Preservation Hero award given by the National Trust for Historic
Preservation (Biography 2012) these are just a few of many honorably awards that he has
received through out his life.
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John Lewis was an icon and a role model through is time as a civil rights activist. He has
accomplished many great things that have benefited the country for minorities. These are just a
few recollections of the many things that John Lewis has done.
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Works Cited
BERMAN, ARI. "John Lewis's Fight For Voting Rights." Nation 296.26/27 (2013): 20-26.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Aug. 2015
"Biography." Biography. Johnlwis.gov, 10 Oct. 2012. Web. 9 Aug. 2015
"John Lewis." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 08 Aug. 2015
"Leaders of the March." National Museum of American History. 17 Dec. 2012. Web. 9 Aug.
2015.