Written by Stuti Kathuria, a grade 9 student and Brand Ambassador at
I Kid You Not

John Robert Lewis was an American politician and civil rights leader who died on 17th July, 2020. He was an important part of America’s civil rights movement and faught hard to end lawful racial discrimination.

Lewis was one of the leaders who was part of the March on Washington in August 1963. This was a famous event in which 250,000 people came togther and collected at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C in the United States. The main purpose of this was to show unity in figting for rights of African Americans. This is the march where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic “I Have a Dream” speech, calling for an to racism.

John Lewis led many marches against racism. One of the most famous ones was when police attacked unarmed protestors, including Lewis. That came to be known as a Bloody Sunday (1965).

In 1988, Lewis introduced a bill to establish a national African-American Museum in Washington. The bill failed, but John never gave up and kept pushing to get it approved until finally, it was. The Nation Museum of African American History and Culture finally opened its doors to the public in September of 2016. John Lewis believed that African American culture was just as important and essential as all others on the planet. He thought that people should know about African American history and culture and how it has evolved throughout the course of time.

Robert Lewis’s 1998 autobiography Walking in the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement, won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award as well as many others. When he joined the civil rights movement, Lewis’s biggest inspiration was Martin Luther King Jr. He had also spoken against Trump’s presidency campaign in 2016 and did not support his endeavor. He did not consider Trump to be a ‘legitimate president’. Lewis has been widely appreciated for his “for his extraordinary courage, leadership and commitment to civil rights”, and also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for the same.

More recently, Lewis was arrested in 2006 and also 2009 outside the Sudan embassy for protesting against the genocide inDarfur (a region in western Sudan – whihc is in Eastern Africa. Genocide menas the killing of a large group of people of a particular nation or ethnic group).

How was John Lewis different from other Congressmen?

The answer to this question is fairly simple. He believed in what he thought was right, and not of others hate. He stood up for his beliefs, even if it meant getting hurt both physically and mentally. Lewis was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December 2019 but did not lose hope and had all the intention of getting back to work as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Lewis passed away on 17^th July, 2020. His legacy lives on, just in different ways all around the world. John inspired thousands of people all around the world to keep fighting till the end, and never give up on what they believe. He fulfilled his duties, both as a leader as well as a politician. His dream of an African American human being elected as President also came true, and right in front of his own eyes. He will be missed greatly, but his thoughts and energy flows through the very core of the.

Written by Stuti Kathuria

Stuti is an avid writer and an Indian classical dancer.  She studies at Delhi Public School, Rk Puram. She runs a mood board account on Instagram (@celestial_venus) and loves to read a lot. She also has a great interest in activism has helped raise money for the Black Lives Matter Movement through her mood board account on Instagram.

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