John R. Lewis was one of the most important figures in the American Civil Rights Movement and a long-serving member of the U.S. Congress. His legacy spans both historic activism and decades of legislative work.

During the 1960s, Lewis became a key leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), helping organize sit-ins, freedom rides, and voter registration efforts in the segregated South. He is best known for his role in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, especially “Bloody Sunday,” when peaceful protesters were violently attacked while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. That moment helped galvanize national support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

After his activism years, Lewis served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 until his death in 2020, representing Georgia’s 5th congressional district. In Congress, he became widely known as the “Conscience of the House” for his moral leadership and commitment to civil rights, voting access, and social justice.