Magnet - John Lewis

John 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. In 1965 Lewis led the first of three Selma to Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where state troopers and police brutally attacked Lewis and the other marchers in an incident that became known as Bloody Sunday.

Lewis was first elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986 and served 17 terms. Lewis maintained his deep commitments to peace, nonviolence and liberation throughout his time in politics.