On the recordJune 13, 2013
I rise today to commemorate the life and legacy of Congressman John Robert Lewis of Georgia, and recognize the 50th anniversary of his chairmanship of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. John Lewis grew up during the heart of segregation, born as the son of sharecroppers and attending segregated schools in Pike County, AL. At a young age, he became inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, and decided that he too, would fight for equal rights guaranteed to all by the Constitution of the United States. John attended Fisk University, where he began his civil rights activism by organizing a sit-in at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, TN. He later became one of the original 13 Freedom Riders, bravely challenging segregation at interstate bus terminals throughout the South. In 1963, John Lewis was elected as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which we are here to recognize today. He helped found this organization, which encouraged students to get involved in the civil rights movement and played a key role in the struggle to end legalized racial discrimination and segregation. By the age of 23, he was recognized as one of the ``Big Six'' leaders of the civil rights movement, planning and participating as the youngest speaker at the historic March on Washington in August 1963. He remains the last remaining speaker from this march.…
