john lewis alabama

Timeline: The Life of Rep. John Lewis

Born in rural Alabama during the dark days of Jim Crow segregation, Rep. John Lewis rose from poverty to become a leader of the civil rights movement and later was elected to Congress. Here is a timeline of some major events in Lewis’ life. Feb. 21, 1940: Born the son of Black sharecroppers near Troy. ___ Fall 1959: Long interested…

Bus Ticket from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Began Lifetime of Civil Rights Service for Rep. John Lewis

Eighteen-year-old John Lewis stepped off a Greyhound bus in Montgomery in 1958 after receiving a round-trip ticket from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The teen had written King a letter because he was interested in trying to attend the all-white Troy University, just 10 miles from his family’s farm in Pike County. “So you’re John Lewis. The boy from…