John Lewis: Civil Rights Leader

Improved Essays
Shadiamond Briney
Research Paper
7th ELA

Do you know John Lewis? John Lewis, an influential civil rights leader,and is recognized by most as one of the important leaders of the civil rights movement as a whole. John Lewis, an influential SNCC leader, attended segregated schools. In 1963 Lewis played a key role in the historic March On Washington making him an influential leader of the civil rights movement.

He was born near Troy, Alabama, on February 21, 1940, he grew up in an era of segregation. He was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., so he joined the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis was a Freedom Rider, he spoke at 1963's March on Washington and led the demonstration that became known as "Bloody Sunday." He was elected to congress in 1986 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
His family was sharecroppers.He was one of the "Big Six" leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, he has continued to fight for people's rights since joining congress in 1987.After the March on Washington, in 1964, the Civil Rights Act became a law. However, this did not make it easier for African Americans to vote in the South. To bring attention to this struggle, Lewis and Hosea Williams led a march from Selma, Alabama, on March 7,
…show more content…
Lewis was beaten and arrested experiences he would repeat often. After leaving the SNCC Lewis made his home in atlanta he remained active in the civil rights movement most notable as the director of the voter education project.In addition to numerous other honours he received, Lewis was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize in 1975, the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2001, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) Spingarn Medal in 2002. In 2011 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He coauthored the memoir Walking with the Wind in

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    How important was the Double V Campaign and WW2 in the growing demand for Civil Rights between 1945 and 1968? Before WW2 not much had changed in the Civil Rights Campaign: People still had the view of ‘separate but equal’ and the Jim Crow laws were still in place. However in the mid 60’s the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Acts made significant changes towards Civil Rights. The Double V Campaign and WW2 were important in the growing demand for Civil Rights between 1945 and 1968 to a certain extent.…

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. was the most important civil rights leader. Martin Luther King’s studying helped him become the most important civil rights leader. In college King found his answer to end segregation, from the two people they said that the most powerful weapon against lack of fairness is when you use nonviolent action civil disobedience (Ganeri 8).When MLK was studying at Crozer he found the answer on how to end segregation. The answer was to do it peacefully because he learned…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1960s Dbq

    • 1300 Words
    • 6 Pages

    : 2 The 1960’s was a decade of revolution and change in politics, music, and society around the world. It was an era of protest. The decade shaped the country and made it how it is today. There were numerous amounts of leaders, presidents, motivators, etc. that changed how the society lived then, and how we now live our day to day lives right this very moment.…

    • 1300 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the most important parts of the civil rights movement was to be able to give a compelling speech that encourages the people to act and fight for what is right. One of the key speeches of the civil rights movement was John Lewis’s speech during the march in Washington on August 28th 1968 because of his way of persuading the audience. Although he was asked to make adjustments to his already powerful speech at the March on Washington, John Lewis uses rhetorical appeals to make his argument strong and persuasive. He uses emotion to show the horrors of what is occurring, logic to convey the reasons why there needs to be a change, and his credibility to show his involvement in the civil rights movement. First of all, Lewis was able to make his argument compelling by his use of emotion, or pathos.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Great War Dbq

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages

    There were many controversial topics throughout the world during the 20th century such as WWI, WWII, the Civil Rights movement, women’s rights, and the Vietnam War. Although this was a difficult time for most people (especially since the stock market crashed in 1929) there were a few influential people (Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks) that stood out from the rest in leading the fight for equality. What sparked the uproar in the east that eventually lead to the beginning of “The Great War”? On June 28th, 1914 a Serbian nationalist assassinated the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, while he was visiting Sarajevo a city in the Bosnia-Herzegovina province.…

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Walking with the wind is an autobiography about civil rights activist John Lewis. This book takes the reader through his life and shows how the civil rights era was through his eyes. It goes into great detail over the struggles he was faced with and overcame throughout this difficult time. It also allows the reader to get a sense of what it was like living through such a tough period in time. John Lewis was born February 21, 1940.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    He belonged to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference also known as the SCLC (Martin Luther King Jr. Biography). In the 1960’s he engaged in various civil rights boycotts and protests. Out of these protests and movements came the famous, “I Have a Dream” speech.…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mlk Significance

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages

    April,16, 1963, MLK spoke, “Injustice somewhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” MLK took part in many marches to gain equality and freedom. He had taken part and led in one of the most memorable events in Civil Rights history. MLK’s background, his fight for justice, and the importance of remembering him and his efforts, is what has molded this nation today. During MLK’s childhood, he developed a gentle character from his parental role models and high academics leading him to an early start in the college life.…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John H Johnson was one of the most influential African-American historian that I've ever studied because he started his own company in a black community full of poverty which was often invaded by white supremacists. In his magazine, he supported black civil rights leaders by writing about the struggle for the children and businesses. Though he grew up in poverty, he tried very hard to get a good education this lead him to write and read extremely well. He started Jet magazine with a 500 dollar loan and took off from there. Being the first African-American in the Forbes 400,becoming an entrepreneur and philanthropist,and special ambassador of the United States.…

    • 1330 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Maynard Jackson The Civil Rights movement was very important to the history of our country. Many people stood up against oppression and chose to speak up. One man in particular was named Maynard Jackson. He was the first African American to become the mayor of a major southern city. Maynard’s childhood,education,awards, and impact on the Civil Rights movement were all very important.…

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    John Lewis was born in Troy,Alabama,on February 21, 1940. John had a great childhood. In 1957 John Lewis left Alabama to go and attend the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee and he learned about nonviolent protests against racial segregation. He was arrested during these demonstrations and his mom was very upset with him for it. Even though his mother was upset he was determined on the Civil Rights and went to participate in the Freedom Riders in 1961.…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In John Lewis’ autobiography Walking with the Wind we are able to get an inside look at life in the south, pre-Civil Rights Era. John Lewis, in Pike county, was able to take into account his changing views of his small town. His unique thoughts and experiences are what evolved him into the Civil Rights activist he is known to be. His story shows his own encounters as time goes on, as well as showing the opinions and actions of adults, such as his parents, during this same time. Each generation varied, having a different view and experience throughout the pre-Civil Rights Era, which seemed to be based off of their own experience before that time, in which they were most likely slaves.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "This also led Luther to received the Nobel Peace Price for 1964.From late 1965 truth 1967, Luther expanded his Civil Rights into others cities including Chicago and Los Angles. Therefore, Luther King’s life had a huge impact on race relations in Unite State. Years after his death, Luther is the most widely known African-American leader of his era. His life and work have been honored with a national holiday, school, and public buildings named after him, and a memorial on Independence Mall in Washington, D.C.…

    • 1542 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    and several other civil rights leaders organised three marches from Selma, Alabama to the state capital of Montgomery, in protest for voting rights for all people. The first march, on Sunday, March 7, 1965, involved nearly 600 protesters and demonstrators who marched east from Selma towards Montgomery, led by John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Rev. Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King was not present because he had church duties. But days before the march Martin Luther King had met with government officials to try to ensure the marchers would not be interfered with. Even so, mob and police violence caused the march to be aborted on that "bloody Sunday.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Malala yousefzai vs Martin Luther king Jr. By Zion De`Shion Reaves Have you ever heard of Martin Luther king Jr. or have you heard of Malala yousefzai? You probably have heard of both of them but they have similarities and differences too. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He was born to parents Martin Luther King and Alberta Williams.…

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays