John Lewis

John Lewis
Lewis in 2006
House Democratic Senior Chief Deputy Whip
In office January 3, 2003 – July 17, 2020
Leader	Dick Gephardt Nancy Pelosi
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	G. K. Butterfield
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 5th district
In office January 3, 1987 – July 17, 2020
Preceded by	Wyche Fowler
Succeeded by	Kwanza Hall
Member of the Atlanta City Council from at-large post 18
In office January 1, 1982 – September 3, 1985
Preceded by	Jack Summer[1]
Succeeded by	Morris Finley
3rd Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
In office June 1963 – May 1966
Preceded by	Charles McDew
Succeeded by	Stokely Carmichael
Personal details
Born	John Robert Lewis (1940-02-21)February 21, 1940 Pike County, Alabama, U.S.
Died	July 17, 2020(2020-07-17) (aged 80) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Resting place	South-View Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Lillian Miles ​ ​ (m. 1968; died 2012)​
Children	1
Education	American Baptist College (BA) Fisk University (BA)
Occupation	Civil rights activist Politician
Signature
John Lewis's voice John Lewis speaks on a House resolution celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Recorded January 21, 2009

John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville sit-ins and the Freedom Rides, was the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1963 to 1966, and was one of the "Big Six" leaders of groups who organized the 1963 March on Washington. Fulfilling many key roles in the civil rights movement and its actions to end legalized racial segregation in the United States, in 1965 Lewis physically led the first of three Selma to Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where, in an incident that became known as Bloody Sunday, state troopers and police attacked Lewis and the other marchers.

A member of the Democratic Party, Lewis was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986 and served 17 terms. The district he represented included most of Atlanta. Due to his length of service, he became the dean of the Georgia congressional delegation. He was one of the leaders of the Democratic Party in the House, serving from 1991 as a chief deputy whip and from 2003 as a senior chief deputy whip. He received many honorary degrees and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.