Congressman John Lewis—Life, Legacy, Scholarship
1960
The Nashville Sit-ins
John Lewis (right) was first arrested for participating in the Nashville sit-ins when he was a student at American Baptist Theological Seminary. He would go on to be arrested at least 45 times, primarily during the Civil Rights Movement and later as a Member of Congress.
Jimmy Ellis / The Tennessean (March 25, 1960)
Learn more
1963
March on Washington
At 23 years of age, John Lewis—Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee—was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 250,000 people attended the March.
Danny Lyon (Aug. 28, 1963)
Watch the speech
1965
The Edmund Pettus Bridge (Bloody Sunday)
Alabama State Troopers gave John Lewis, Hosea Williams and the other Foot Soldiers in the Selma-to-Montgomery march a “two-minute warning” to disperse before violently attacking them with clubs, whips, tear gas and horses. John Lewis suffered a skull fracture that day.
Spider Martin (March 7, 1965 aka “Bloody Sunday”)
Learn More
1965
The Voting Rights Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson was able to push through the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in part because of the television coverage of the events of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama. He handed one of the ceremonial signing pens to John Lewis.
Robert Knudsen (Aug. 6, 1965)
Learn More
1966
Marching in Atlanta
Students from Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark College marched to the Georgia State Capitol. They were led by John Lewis (far right), the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (third from right), Coretta Scott King and Rev. Ralph David Abernathy (second from left).
Hugh Stovall / Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Jan. 15, 1966)
Learn More
1967
Community Organizing
John Lewis served as director of the Community Organization Project for the Southern Regional Council in Atlanta from 1967 to 1970 and the executive director of the Voter Education Project from 1970 to 1977. Under his leadership, the VEP added nearly four million minorities to the voter rolls.
Sam Falk / The New York Times (May 29, 1967)
Learn More
1979
The Carter Administration
John Lewis served in the Carter Administration as the associate director of ACTION, the federal volunteer agency that administered the Peace Corps, VISTA, Retired Senior Volunteer Program and the Foster Grandparent Program from 1977 to 1979.
White House Staff Photographer (Dec. 3, 1979)
Read President Carter’s Remarks from Rep. John Lewis’ funeral
1982
The Atlanta City Council
John Lewis was elected to the Atlanta City Council in 1981 and served until 1986. While serving on the Council, he was an advocate for ethics in government and neighborhood preservation. Andrew Young was Atlanta’s mayor during this time.
Floyd Edwin Jillson / Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Oct. 11, 1982)
Read the AJC's article on John Lewis' tenure on the Atlanta City Council
1986
Congressional Victory
John Lewis, and his wife, Lillian Miles Lewis, led supporters from his campaign headquarters to a victory party after defeating Julian Bond in a runoff election for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District seat in Atlanta. He served in Congress from 1987 to 2020.
Linda Schaeffer / Associated Press (Sept. 3, 1986)
Learn More About His Early Days in Congress
2007
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Rep. John Lewis was an unwavering supporter of peace, love and nonviolence. He met His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama during a public event in Centennial Park when the latter was on a three-day visit to Atlanta. His public talk was entitled, “Educating the Heart and Mind: A Path to Universal Responsibility.”
Rich Addicks / Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Oct. 22, 2007)
Watch Rep. John Lewis’s Welcome
2011
The Presidential Medal of Freedom
President Barack Obama presented a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rep. John Lewis during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in recognition of his lifetime commitment to civil rights, nonviolent protest, and social justice.
Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press (Feb. 15, 2011)
Rep. John Lewis, In His Own Words
2012
Congressman John Lewis' Office
Rep. John Lewis posed for a photo in his office in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. He was elected to Congress 17 times and represented Georgia’s 5th Congressional District from 1987 until his passing in 2020.
Jack Gruber / USA Today (June 20, 2012)
Read his Obituary in Roll Call
2016
U.S. House of Representatives Sit-in
Rep. John Lewis continued his activism as a Member of Congress, helping lead a historic 25-hour sit-in on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives seeking a vote on gun control legislation in the wake of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando.
Rep. John Yarmuth via Associated Press (June 22, 2016)
Rep. John Lewis, In His Own Words
2025
Honoring John Lewis Through Scholarship
Chris Lazzara, GSO Trustee; Detria Everson, CEO of the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation; and Dr. Randy Kluender, GSO President, celebrate the launch of the John Lewis Legacy Scholarship. Beginning August 2025, it will fund three-year scholarships for orthodontic residents from underrepresented minorities, honoring Congressman John Lewis’s legacy.
John Haigwood (April 3, 2025)
Learn More About the Scholarship