John Lewis

John Lewis
Photograph of John Lewis in suit and tie
Lewis in 2006
House Democratic Senior Chief Deputy Whip
In office
January 3, 2003 – July 17, 2020
LeaderDick Gephardt
Nancy Pelosi
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byG. K. Butterfield
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 5th district
In office
January 3, 1987 – July 17, 2020
Preceded byWyche Fowler
Succeeded byKwanza Hall
Member of the Atlanta City Council
from at-large post 18
In office
January 1, 1982 – September 3, 1985
Preceded byJack Summer[1]
Succeeded byMorris Finley
3rd Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
In office
June 1963 – May 1966
Preceded byCharles McDew
Succeeded byStokely Carmichael
Personal details
Born
John Robert Lewis

(1940-02-21)February 21, 1940
Pike County, Alabama, U.S.
DiedJuly 17, 2020(2020-07-17) (aged 80)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Resting placeSouth-View Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Lillian Miles
(m. 1968; died 2012)
Children1
Education
Occupation
Signature

John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville sit-ins and the Freedom Rides, was the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1963 to 1966, and was one of the "Big Six" leaders of groups who organized the 1963 March on Washington. Fulfilling many key roles in the civil rights movement and its actions to end legalized racial segregation in the United States, in 1965 Lewis led the first of three Selma to Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where, in an incident that became known as Bloody Sunday, state troopers and police attacked Lewis and the other marchers.

A member of the Democratic Party, Lewis was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986 and served 17 terms. The district he represented included most of Atlanta. Due to his length of service, he became the dean of the Georgia congressional delegation. He was one of the leaders of the Democratic Party in the House, serving from 1991 as a chief deputy whip and from 2003 as a senior chief deputy whip. He received many honorary degrees and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

  1. ^ Suggs, Ernie (July 17, 2020). "Years in Atlanta City Hall Tested Lewis' Mettle". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.