"Rep. John Lewis is not to be trifled with. He has no time for your shit." [View all]

[pnwmom]

John Lewis -- a believer in non-violent protest -- is the man who, with Hosea Williams, led the march on Selma that became known as Bloody Sunday, and ended up with a fractured skull.

No one else can teach him how to "grow a spine." His is made of titanium.

ON EDIT: SELMA was a great movie about the march and the people involved in it, for anyone who's interested

http://www.biography.com/people/john-lewis-21305903#synopsis



Synopsis

Born near Troy, Alabama, on February 21, 1940, John Lewis grew up in an era of segregation. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., he joined the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement. Lewis was a Freedom Rider, spoke at 1963's March on Washington and led the demonstration that became known as "Bloody Sunday." He was elected to Congress in 1986 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.

SNIP

In 1957, John Lewis left Alabama to attend the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he learned about nonviolent protest and helped to organize sit-ins at segregated lunch counters. He was arrested during these demonstrations, which upset his mother, but Lewis was committed to the Civil Rights Movement and went on to participate in the Freedom Rides of 1961. Freedom Riders challenged the segregated facilities they encountered at interstate bus terminals in the South, which had been deemed illegal by the Supreme Court. It was dangerous work that resulted in arrests and beatings for many involved, including Lewis.

In 1963, Lewis became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. That same year, as one of the "Big Six" leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, he helped plan the March on Washington. Lewis—the youngest speaker at the event—had to alter his speech in order to please other organizers, but still delivered a powerful oration that declared, "We all recognize the fact that if any radical social, political and economic changes are to take place in our society, the people, the masses, must bring them about."

After the March on Washington, in 1964, the Civil Rights Act became law. However, this did not make it easier for African Americans to vote in the South. To bring attention to this struggle, Lewis and Hosea Williams led a march from Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. After crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the marchers were attacked by state troopers. Lewis was severely beaten once more, this time suffering a fractured skull. The violent attacks were recorded and disseminated throughout the country, and the images proved too powerful to ignore. "Bloody Sunday," as the day was labeled, sped up the passage of 1965's Voting Rights Act.



http://www.mtv.com/news/2896800/john-lewis-is-not-here-for-your-shit/

HE HAS VISIBLE SCARS FROM BEING HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A WOODEN CRATE WHILE PROTESTING SEGREGATION. HE HAS NO TIME FOR YOUR SHIT

You should not fuck with Representative John Lewis. You should not even begin to contemplate the process of how you might fuck with Representative John Lewis. He is the admiral of Not Today, Satan. He is the general of Not Fucking Having It.

You may disagree with Representative John Lewis. In Georgia, you may vote against him. You can send angry letters to his office. But do not fuck with Representative John Lewis. He has seen worse than whatever you have to give him, and he has handled it better than you could possibly ever begin to. Since 1959, he has stood up for his beliefs, and he has faced abuse and prison and beatings and violence for it, and not once has he ever backed down. And he is not about to start now.