Description

Born near Troy, AlabamaAdvocating nonviolence “not just as a technique, but as a way of life,” activist John Lewis (now a longstanding member of Congress) endured repeated beatings and arrests while leading civil rights protests during the 1960s. A founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) when he was just nineteen, Lewis took the lead in organizing the freedom rides, sit-ins, marches, and other demonstrations that were part of the SNCC’s drive to end racial segregation and secure voting rights for millions of disenfranchised African Americans. In the summer of 1962, he initiated a direct-action campaign challenging segregation in the community of Cairo, Illinois. As Lewis (far left) and other demonstrators knelt in prayer during a vigil outside the city’s “whites only” swimming pool, Danny Lyon captured this compelling image. A University of Chicago student, Lyon soon became SNCC’s official photographer and documented the organization’s civil rights efforts for several years.Nacido cerca de Troy, AlabamaAbogando por la no violencia “no sólo como técnica, sino como forma de vida”, el activista John Lewis (hoy miembro del Congreso de larga data) sufrió repetidas palizas y arrestos mientras lideraba las protestas por los derechos civiles durante los años 60. Fundador del Comité Coordinador Estudiantil No Violento (SNCC, por sus siglas en inglés) con sólo diecinueve años, Lewis lideró la organización de caminatas, sentadas, marchas y otro tipo de manifestaciones por la libertad, que fueron parte de la campaña del SNCC para terminar con la segregación racial y asegurar el derecho a voto...

Record Contributed By

National Portrait Gallery

Record Harvested From

Smithsonian Institution