Marching for justice: John Lewis's journey as a civil rights icon
John Lewis was born to sharecroppers in Troy, Alabama, in 1940.
He would listen to the broadcasts of Martin Luther King Jr. as a boy during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and in 1960, took part in his first sit-in.
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At the age of 23, he was a keynote speaker during the March on Washington and became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
He led more than 600 peaceful protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to march for voting rights. The group was attacked by Alabama State Troopers in what would be known as "Bloody Sunday." This event would help spark the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
From 1986 until his death in 2020, Lewis was a congressman for Georgia. In 2015, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
Throughout Black History Month, 米兰体育 13 is recognizing Alabamians who broke barriers and raised the bar for everyone. Stay with us as we honor and celebrate "Black History Moments."
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