John Lewis Essay

559 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impacts of martin luther king

Jamaika Johnson
11.13.2015

John Lewis- House of Representatives

John Lewis was born on February 21, 1940 in Troy, Alabama to Willie Mae and Eddie Lewis. Lewis was raised on his family’s farm and he also attended public school in Pike County, Alabama. The schools that Lewis attended were segregated. During his time spent in public school, a major event took place. On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, refused to give up her seat to a white man. This started the 13 month Montgomery Bus Boycott. This movement resulted in a very significant victory for the Civil Rights Movement. Growing up, Lewis was inspired by and admired Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was in these important years, that John Lewis made the decision to become a part of the Civil Rights Movement. And ever since, Lewis …show more content…

At the time, he had his sights set on attending the nearby all-white Troy State College, now known as Troy University, to study ministry. But because of the oppressive segregation, he knew that attending the school of his choice was impossible because they didn't grant Blacks admission into the College. He had also wanted to attend the infamous Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, but the tuition was too expensive for his family to pay. His mother presented him with a brochure from American Baptist College, which was a predominantly African American establishment in Nashville, Tennessee. He eventually decided on this school because the students were allowed to work for the school versus paying the tuition. However, while he was attending American Baptist, Lewis thought about transferring to Troy State. In December of 1957, Lewis officially applied to Troy State via registered mail. To his dismay, he didn’t receive a letter of acceptance or a denial- that’s how many southern universities dealt with admission applications from African Americans, by just ignoring

Show More
Related

  • March John Lewis Analysis

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many symbols in the reading March that have a significant value. Throughout the graphic memoir, John Lewis shows there are certain symbols that are very common. Sorted in categories, each concrete object given in the photos provided are modified by their mutual abstraction.

    Read More

  • John Cartwright Research Paper

    599 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Cartwright was born on the 9th of August 1965 in Penrith New South Wales to Merv Cartwright and Carole Cartwright. Cartwright is best known for playing rugby league for the Penrith Panthers, NSW Blues and the Australian Kangaroos.

    Read More

  • Reginald F. Lewis

    1910 Words  | 4 Pages

    Reginald Francis Lewis was born in (East) Baltimore, Maryland on December 7, 1942. During the 1940’s and 1950’s, black people weren’t allowed to shop at many of the stores and they had designated restaurants and movie theaters they were able to attend. At the age of 6, Reginald decided things would be different for him and stated "why should white guys have all the fun?"

    Read More

  • John Lewis Turning Points

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lewis states, “February 27, 1960 was my first arrest. The first of many” (Lewis and Aydin 1: 103). (See figure 1) John Lewis was not afraid of being arrested for doing the right thing. At this moment, the Nashville students were still trying to desegregate the department store lunch counters. Lewis says, “We wanted to change America-- to make it something different, something better” (Lewis and Aydin 1: 103). All of the students were willing to do what it takes to make a change happen. 82 students went to jail that day alongside with Lewis, they were offered bail however they refused. They did not want to cooperate with the system in any way because the system is what was allowing segregation in the first place. At around 11 p.m. they were all released and had to attend court the next day. They found the students guilty and ordered them to either pay a fine of 50 dollars each, or spend 30 days in jail. Of course they didn’t pay the bail and did their time in jail. As a result, when John Lewis’s parents later on found out he had gone to jail. They were devastated and he had become an embarrassment and a source of humiliation and gossip to the

    Read More

  • Meriwether Lewis Research Paper

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1801 President Thomas Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis to act as his private secretary. Meriwether Lewis was a skilled frontiersman and an amateur scientist. Around 1804 Thomas Jefferson made Meriwether Lewis another offer, he asked him if he would led an expedition into the lands west of the Mississippi. Lewis asked one of his closet friend, William Clark, if he would join Lewis in this expedition; William Clark agreed to be his co-captain. Meriwether Lewis was an extraordinary man for the things he's accomplished as a frontiersman, amateur scientist, an intellectual and a explorer.

    Read More

  • martin luther king

    433 Words  | 1 Pages

    Martin Luther King, Jr. catapulted to fame when he came to the assistance of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery, Alabama Black seamstress who refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus to a White passenger. In those days American Blacks were confined to positions of second class citizenship by restrictive laws and customs. To break these laws would mean subjugation and humiliation by the police and the legal system. Beatings, imprisonment and sometimes death were waiting for those who defied the System.

    Read More

  • Freedom Riders: Rebels with a Cause

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Lewis, a young black man who was born in the South, participated in the Freedom Rides. His statement rang true when Nashville students were faced with the decision of joining the Freedom Rides in their fight for civil rights. This historical event paved the way for racial equality throughout the United States. The Freedom Rides were a vital part of history because it set the foundation for racial equality throughout the South, whether it be public restrooms, dining rooms or transportation.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Martin Luther King And Lewis

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    Besides Dr. King, Lewis chose the nonviolent path to defend Blacks rights; he was a chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

    Read More

  • The Impact Of The Niagara Movement

    2229 Words  | 5 Pages

    Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP, lived in Montgomery Alabama, and rode the public bus system. In the south, during this time the buses were segregated which meant that black people had to ride in the back of the bus behind a painted line. White people entered the front of the bus and were compelled to sit in front of the painted line. Most buses at the time had more room for white riders who used the service less than the black ridership. Yet, they could not cross the line even if the seats in the front were empty (Brown-Rose, 2008). Rosa Parks made a bold statement when she sat in the “white section” of a Montgomery bus. She was asked to surrender her seat to a white man, but she did not move and was soon arrested. Her brave action started the Montgomery bus Boycott, with the help of the NAACP, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King’s leadership as part of the Montgomery Improvement Association. As its President, he was able spread the word quickly which brought national attention to the small town of Montgomery’s bus Boycott. The boycott was televised and brought so much attention that the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional; a success spurring a more

    Read More

  • David Allen Lucas Research Paper

    350 Words  | 1 Pages

    A University of San Diego professor whose daughter’s disappearance become a recurring factor in his life, has finally gotten the peace he deserves. After approximately five years of three unsolved murders, assailant David Allen Lucas, was convicted and sentenced to death. Lucas was a carpet cleaner from Spring Valley, CA and was 23 when he first committed a murder, but this was not his first time being convicted. In 1973, at the age of 18 Lucas was incarcerated after being convicted of raping a 21-year-old maid who had worked for a family friend.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King Research Paper

    1944 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over the course of his life, Dr. King would lead and participate in multiple non-violent protests against segregation. On the first of December, 1955, the arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama would trigger the first of many protests led by King. The Montgomery bus boycott would last for 385 days and was so tense that King’s house was bombed. He was later arrested and released after the United States District Courts ruled that segregation on all Montgomery public buses was illegal. This paved the way for King to lead many more protests in his life and becoming a major leader in the desegregation movement.

    Read More

  • C. S. Lewis Legacy

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    His long legacy would comprise of many literary works, but none would be as internationally revered as the series that would soon become an on-screen iteration.

    Read More

  • The Australian Freedom Ride: Inspiration And Role Models

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    As you now see, people stand as role models for one another and follow in their footsteps. From the beginning, Lewis was inspired by Rosa Parkes and Dr Martin Luther King. All these people believed in their dreams, and were committed to their hearing to go forth and achieve a sole goal, to create an equal relationship between races, which means exterminating segregation and earning constitutional

    Read More

  • John Lewis: An American Civil Rights Activist

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Lewis is an African American man born on February 21st, 1940, into a sharecropping family in Pike County, Alabama (Moye, 2004). He grew up on his family's farm, and attended segregated public schools as a child. Even when he was just a young boy, Lewis was always inspired by the happenings of the Civil Rights Movement. Events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott or hearing the wise words of Martin Luther King Junior over the radio stimulated his desire to become a part of a worthwhile cause, and was a supporter of the Civil Rights Movement ever since ("Biography," para. 3). Lewis went to school at both the American Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University, both in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from the American Baptist Theological Seminary, and received a Bachelors degree in religion and philosophy from Fisk University. While at Fisk, he learned the philosophy of how to be nonviolent, and would soon incorporate that into his civil rights work ("John Lewis Biography," para. 3). While he was a student at Fisk University, Lewis began putting together sit-ins at local lunch counters to protest segregation. Many...

    Read More

  • A Brief Biography Of C. S. Lewis

    1337 Words  | 3 Pages

    C. S. Lewis was a Christian author born in Belfast, Ireland. His father was Albert James Lewis and his mother was Florence Augusta Lewis, a daughter of an Anglican priest. He also had an elder brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis. Lewis’ mother died in 1908 from cancer. He was a teacher at both Oxford University and Cambridge University. His Christian faith had a significant role in his writing. While Lewis was training for the army, he became roommates with another soldier, Edward Courtnay Francis "Paddy" Moore. Lewis became strong friends with Paddy’s mother, Jane Moore. Jane became the motherly figure in Lewis’ life because his mother died when he was just ten years old. Lewis had a family that faithfully attended the Church of Ireland. His family was Anglican following the religion of his mother. He became an atheist at fifteen years old because he thought that God did not exist. He slowly began to embrace the idea of Christianity. In 1931 he became a Christian because he finally realized that God existed. He married an American writer, Joy Davidman, in 1956 but she died four years later because of secondary bone cancer. Lewis died in November 22, 1963 one week before his 65th birthday because of renal failure. C. S. Lewis’ conversion from atheism to Christianity did not only give him a subject to base his books on but also allowed him to see different aspects of life. (Internet 1)

    Read More

More about John Lewis Essay

Open Document