John R. Lewis
(1940-)

African-American Politician, Civil Rights Leader
1965 Eugene V. Debs Outstanding American Award
1999 Four Freedoms Awards /
1999 Wallenberg Medal
2003 Hubert Humphrey Civil Rights Award
2004 National Freedom Award / 2004 Academy of Achievers
2006 Jefferson Awards for Public Service / 2007 Lincoln Medal
2007 Dole Leadership Prize
/ 2011 Presidential Medal of Freedom

birthdate: February 21
birthplace: Troy, Alabama

For more than 50 years, John Lewis, one of the most important leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, has been at the forefront of the struggle for human rights and progressive social change in America. Since 1987 he has served in the US House of Representatives as a leading voice for liberal policies as well as a beacon of integrity, earning him respect as ""the conscience of the U.S. Congress." John Lewis first gained national recognition in 1963 as chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, where he played an important role in helping to end segregation in America. He was an organizer and a keynote speaker at the famous March on Washington in August 1963 where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream speech" and in 1965 John Lewis led the historic march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama that brought the civil rights movement to the center of national attention when the peaceful marchers were brutally attacked on live television. This attention to the serious problems in the segregated South helped ensure the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Every year, John Lewis leads a large group, including colleagues in Congress, to retrace the steps of this historic march. His tireless dedication to working for a better world is guided by his vision of "The Beloved Community" shared by Dr. Martin Luther King - an achievable goal of working together to build a more peaceful, just and sustainable nation and global community.

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