Congressman john lewis civil rights

Georgia Congressman John R. Lewis was an activist, teacher, and the heartbeat of the Civil Rights Movement. Congressman Lewis fought tirelessly for social justice and against racial discrimination. He was a man whose entire life compelled us to be better human beings and be better as a society. In , John Lewis announced he started another fight, one that would be one of the fiercest battles of his life.

It was a fight against pancreatic cancer. The news devastated the nation that so revered him for his decades spent battling for the poor, the forgotten, and those on margins of society. We, as a nation, and especially those of us at this museum, wished him well on the journey to recovery. And in true John Lewis fashion, he gave it all he had—doing what he has always done.

John Lewis was a longtime Atlanta, Georgia Congressman, and civil rights champion. March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Aug. Copyright Smithsonian Institution.

John lewis quotes

Kennedy and Vice President. The men are pictured standing in front of an open doorway. From left to right, pictured are: W. Ahmann, Whitney Moore Young Jr.