John Lewis
The Youth Activist
John Lewis, the iconic civil rights activist, began his long career of social justice work as a young boy in Troy, Alabama. The death of Emmet Till, a fourteen-year-old boy who was abducted and killed for supposedly offending a white woman, inspired Lewis to spend much of his youth organizing across the South. Lewis met Robert F. Kennedy during his time as a Freedom Rider, where the pair formed a close friendship. Kennedy championed Lewis’ nonviolent protests as “good trouble,” a phrase that Lewis created to describe his powerful Civil Rights work in the late 1960s. The late John Lewis’s impact is palpable even today, and our young leaders program helps students to embody that level of good trouble – to be empowered, to be impassioned, to speak up and speak out.
February 21, 1940
John Lewis is born in Troy, Alabama, as the son of sharecroppers.
Age 17
1957
Lewis attends the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. Here, Lewis becomes involved with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
Age 19
1959
Lewis becomes a part of the Nashville Student movement, participating in sit-ins at lunch counters.
Age 20
1961
Lewis enrolls at Fisk University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Nashville, TN.
Age 23
1963
Lewis assumes the chairmanship of the SNCC, a position he will hold for the next three years. He becomes one of the “Big Six” leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis helps lead the March on Washington and gives his famous “Speech at the March on Washington.”
Age 25
1965
Lewis helps lead the march on Selma, which is met with violence and later deemed “Bloody Sunday.”
Age 28
1968
Lewis’ close friend, Robert F. Kennedy, is assassinated.
Age 30
1970
Lewis becomes the director of the Voter Education Project, a position which allows him to register thousands of minority voters.
Age 37
1977
Lewis runs for Congress, and despite being unsuccessful, continues working to be elected.
Age 48
1986
John Lewis is elected to the House of Representatives for Georgia’s 5th district. He continues to advocate for voting rights, increased educational opportunities, wider healthcare access, and more.
July 17, 2020
John Lewis passes away at the age of 80.
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