John R. Lewis (D-Ga.)

U.S. Representative (since January 1987)

(Congress Bio Directory)

Why He Matters

Lewis' impact in Washington began decades before he was elected in 1986 to fill what is now Georgia's Atlanta-based 5th district. In 1963, Lewis was a 23-year-old civil-rights leader, head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the youngest person to speak during the "March on Washington." In 2009, the day of President Obama's inauguration, Lewis received an autographed photo of the new commander-in-chief that was signed, "Because of you, John. Barack Obama."

The civil-rights legend is now the lead force behind legislation that commemorates and sustains the push for racial equality. The two most recent Lewis-authored bills, both enacted in 2008, provided funding for the cold-case probes of slain civil-rights leaders and called for the minting of coins commemorating the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Director, ACTION Federal Volunteer Agency; Community Affairs Director, National Consumer Co-operative Bank (1980-1986); Atlanta City Councilman (1982-1986)
Birthday: Feb. 21, 1940
Hometown: Troy, Ala.
Alma Mater: American Baptist Theological Seminary, B.A., 1961; Fisk University, B.A., 1967
Spouse: Lillian Miles
Religion: Baptist
Committees: House Ways and Means

DC Office: 343 Cannon House Office Building, 202-225-3801
District Office: Atlanta, 404-659-0116
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Path to Power

One of ten children of a black sharecropper, Lewis was born in 1940 near Troy, Ala. His family was poor, but in 1944, his father was able to purchase 110 acres of farmland growing cotton, peanuts, cows, hogs and chickens.

Lewis applied to Troy State University, but was denied admission because of his race. He decided to write to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., telling the civil-rights leader he wanted to go to school. King sent the 18-year-old Lewis a bus ticket to Montgomery, Ala. and the two met, thrusting Lewis into the civil-rights movement.

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Civil Rights Leader

Lewis is a graduate of an all-black seminary and at Fisk University in Nashville, Lewis learned about the nonviolence movement from Marion Barry, who would later become the mayor of Washington, D.C., and joined sit-ins around the city.

In 1961, Lewis became famous as one of the 13 original Freedom Riders, who led interstate bus trips pushing to integrate the transit system.

At age 23, Lewis was elected the national chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was among the "Big Six" group of civil-rights leaders who planned the 1963 March on Washington where King made his "I Have a Dream" speech. Lewis helped King plan the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery and was beaten unconscious the day of the march.

In 1967 after leaving SNCC once it became more radical under Stokely Carmichael, Lewis moved to Atlanta to head a community organizing project. Lewis left Atlanta again to aid the 1968 presidential campaigns of Sen. Robert Kennedy (D-N.Y.) and the 1976 bid of Gov. Jimmy Carter (D-Ga.). He also mounted an unsuccessful congressional bid of his own and was named director of ACTION, a federal volunteer organization.

House Career

In 1986, Lewis defeated fellow civil-rights veteran Julian Bond in a hard fought runoff for the Democratic nomination to succeed Rep. Wyche Fowler (R-Ga.), who was running for the Senate. Lewis won the seat, saying, "''I believe the Federal Government must aggressively respond to the needs of the needy. I believe we have a right to know what's in the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink.''

During the 1990s, Lewis was one of the fiercest opponents of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). Though most of the opposition was due to polar politics, the barbs sometimes got personal. In 1997, after he called Gingrich a liar, Lewis was banned from speaking on the floor again that day, the first time such a vote had been taken in the House since 1909.

Lewis also positioned himself for a Senate seat, but never ran. In 2000, Lewis dropped a bid to become a party whip in hopes that he would be offered a Senate seat following the death of then-Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.). In 2003, Lewis was named the third-ranked House Democrat, becoming the party's senior deputy whip.

Lewis now represents Georgia's 5th district and sits on the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Issues

Lewis voted with his party 97.1 percent of the time during the 110th Congress.

Civil Rights Issues

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The Network

Lewis is a close friend of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, though he rescinded his endorsement of her in the 2008 presidential race.

In November 2008, Lewis backed Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) to retain his seat as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, warning fellow Democrats that other senior party members may lose their leadership positions next if Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) was selected instead.

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