John Lewis (politician)

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John Lewis (2006)

John Robert Lewis (born February 21, 1940 in Troy , Alabama , † July 17, 2020 in Atlanta , Georgia ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ), civil rights activist and author.

Life

John Lewis was born near Troy, Alabama, the third of ten children of Eddie and Willie Mae Lewis. His parents were farmers on land that belonged to a white man. He studied at a Baptist seminary in Nashville , Tennessee , and at the same time worked as an activist against racial segregation in restaurants and buses. In 1960 he was arrested for the first time because of his protests.

John Lewis was a major leader in the American civil rights movement. He took part in several Freedom Rides , chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and spoke at the 1963 March on Washington for Work and Freedom in front of more than 200,000 people. In 1965 he led the first of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches , which was stopped by police violence on the Edmund-Pettus-Bridge on the so-called "Bloody Sunday". Lewis suffered a skull fracture. He played a key role in ending racial segregation in the United States.

As a member of the Democratic Republic, he represented the 5th District of Georgia in the United States House of Representatives since 1987 ; previously he was a city councilor in Atlanta from 1982 to 1986 .

Lewis was one of the first MPs to propose removing President George W. Bush from office. He justified this with the fact that the president had knowingly and systematically broken the law when he authorized the NSA to eavesdrop on telephone calls without a court order. Quote Lewis: "He's not a king, he's president."

Barack Obama hugs John Lewis, 2015

After initially supporting Hillary Clinton's election campaign, Lewis later campaigned for Barack Obama's nomination for Democratic Party presidential candidate in 2008. He was generally committed to fairer social policies, such as Obama's health insurance. In 2011 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the USA. In May 2012 he was awarded the University of Pennsylvania , the honorary doctorate .

After the largely Republican-dominated Congress refused to vote on stricter gun laws after the massacre in Orlando on June 22, 2016, Lewis organized a sit-in strike for several hours by the Democratic group. The MPs stayed in the boardroom that night, which led Republicans to adjourn the session until July 2016 the following day by a majority.

Every year around March 7th, Lewis commemorated the 1965 march in Selma. He was accompanied by politicians from all camps, schoolchildren and students who campaigned against racism and poverty in high schools or at their universities. Lewis encouraged his companions to intervene politically: “Be confident, have hope. Make good, because necessary trouble! "

Lewis signs copies of March Book One (2013), the first volume of his autobiography, in Midtown Comics, Manhattan

For the graphic novel March: Book Three , Lewis won a National Book Award in the “Young People's Literature” category in 2016; the novel also received the Michael L. Printz Award and four other awards. In 2016, Lewis also received the Elie Wiesel Award from the  United States Holocaust Memorial Museum .

In late 2019, Lewis announced that he was diagnosed with advanced-stage (Stage IV) pancreatic cancer . He also wanted to exercise his mandate in the House of Representatives during therapy. Lewis died in July 2020 at the age of 80. His remains were after a memorial ceremony in Troy succession in the Alabama State Capitol , the Capitol in Washington and the Georgia State Capitol laid. He found his final resting place in South-View Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia, where several eminent civil rights activists are already buried. The funeral was televised.

Lewis married Lillian Miles in 1968 († December 31, 2012). His son John-Miles Lewis descends from the marriage.

Publications

  • Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change , Hachette Books 2012, ISBN 978-1401324117 .
  • March: Book One with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, Top Shelf Productions 2013, ISBN 978-1603093835 .
  • March: Book Two with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, Top Shelf Productions 2015, ISBN 978-1531194819 .
  • March: Book Three with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, Top Shelf Productions 2016, ISBN 978-1531194802 .
  • March: Trilogy Slipcase Set with Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, Top Shelf Productions 2016, ISBN 978-1603093958 .
  • Run: Book One with Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell and Afua Richardson, Abrams 2019, ISBN 978-1419730696 .
  • Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement , Simon & Schuster 2015, ISBN 978-1476797717 .

literature

  • Ann Bausum: Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement , National Geographic Society, 2006 ISBN 0-7922-4173-8 .
  • Jim Haskins and Kathleen Benson: John Lewis in the Lead: A Story of the Civil Rights Movement , illustrated by Benny Andrews, Lee & Low Books 2006, ISBN 978-1-58430-250-6 .
  • Christine M. Hill: John Lewis: From Freedom Rider to Congressman , Enslow Publishers 2002, ISBN 0-7660-1768-0 .

Web links

Commons : John Lewis  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis dies The Hill, July 17, 2020, accessed July 18, 2020
  2. ^ Vincent Barone: Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a leader of civil rights movement, dead at 80. In: New York Post. July 18, 2020, accessed July 18, 2020 (American English).
  3. ↑ Christian Zaschke, Christian Wernicke: When in doubt for the trouble. In: sueddeutsche.de. July 19, 2020, accessed July 21, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Jet. The weekly source of African American political and entertainment news . tape 88 , 1995, pp. 8 (English). Online: limited preview in Google Book search
  5. ^ Katrina Vanden Heuvel: The I-Word is Gaining Ground ( Memento of March 18, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) In: thenation.com , January 2, 2006.
  6. ↑ Lewis switches from Clinton to Obama. Retrieved July 19, 2020 .
  7. ↑ 2012 honorary doctorates from the University of Pennsylvania ( Memento from August 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ US Congress: Democrats want to enforce a new gun law with a sit-in. In: Spiegel Online . June 22, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Arms Act: Unsuccessful sit-in strike by the US Democrats. In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved June 24, 2016 .
  10. ^ Emily Cochrane: John Lewis, Congressman and Civil Rights Icon, Has Pancreatic Cancer. In: nytimes.com. December 29, 2019, accessed December 30, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Rick Rojas: John Lewis, Son of Alabama, Makes His Last Journey Home. In: New York Times. July 25, 2020, accessed July 26, 2020.
  12. ↑ John Lewis and wife Lillian's love story was shared during his funeral by the friend who set them up.Retrieved August 2, 2020 (American English).
personal data
SURNAME Lewis, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lewis, John Robert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Democratic Party politician, civil rights activist, and author
DATE OF BIRTH February 21, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Troy , Alabama
DATE OF DEATH 17th July 2020
Place of death Atlanta , Georgia