John Lewis

John Lewis was a key leader in the Civil Rights Movement and later a longtime U.S. Representative for Georgia's 5th Congressional District. As a young activist, he served as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and helped organize sit-ins and voter registration efforts across the South.

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In 1965, Lewis led marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he was beaten by state troopers on what became known as "Bloody Sunday." His courage helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. He went on to serve more than thirty years in Congress, continuing his advocacy for civil rights and democracy.