Many individuals, groups, and events played major roles in the civil rights movement, but we usually only hear about a few of them.

Martin Luther King Jr.

is a household name, and for good reason.

But what about the other Georgians who pushed the movement forward?

Let's talk about John Lewis, an activist whose fearlessness at a young age helped transform the United States of America by expanding civil rights.

John Robert Lewis was born in rural Alabama on February 21st, 1940, to a family of sharecroppers.

From a young age, he aspired to be a preacher and often listened to Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

on the radio.

At the age of 15, Lewis preached his very first sermon, and after high school he attended American Baptist College in Nashville , Tennessee.

But while he was studying the text of the Bible and its message on how to treat others, Lewis was witnessing a world where black people experienced discrimination and injustice solely because of their race.

For decades, many political leaders argued that racial segregation, or keeping people separate but equal, was fair, but this fairness was far from reality.

Black citizens were often mistreated and had to seek legal justice when their rights were denied.

So at an early age, John Lewis became an activist, fighting for equality and justice even when it was challenging and complicated.

Following the end of the Civil War, many states and local governments, especially in the South, passed discriminatory laws against Black people.

These laws restricted their voting rights, limited access to education, and even physically segregated, or separated people by race.

These segregation laws, nicknamed Jim Crow laws, required public and private spaces to be racially separated, like in schools, hospitals, restaurants, and public transportation.

Even cemeteries had to maintain racially segregated burial plots.

But in 1954, the Supreme Court issued a major decision that would upend these discriminatory practices.

In the Brown versus Board of Education case, the court ruled that racial segregation was unconstitutional, and therefore all Jim Crow laws violated the rights of American citizens.

A number of local and state governments in the South, however, resisted this change.

Which meant racial segregation remained a harsh reality for years to come.

There were many civil rights activists, black and white, who challenged the South's resistance, but they were often met with violence and sometimes even death.

During this time, white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan reemerged and terrorized those who advocated for desegregation.

Law enforcement officials and judges often ignored the violence and injustices faced by black people, which further prolonged meaningful change in the South.

Okay, so back to John Lewis.

He felt the only way to make a big statement about this unjust treatment was to fight back.

But instead of literally fighting, Lewis would use nonviolent action.

He believed that nonviolence would allow people to voice their concerns and gain more support for people's rights, while delivering better results than violence or the slow, gradual change of the legal system alone.

So in 1960, as a 20-year-old college student, Lewis participated in the first mass lunch counter sit-in in Nashville to protest segregated restaurants.

He also helped organize bus boycotts and protests against the city's segregated businesses.

In 1961, he was one of the original Freedom Riders, which was a small group of whites and blacks that protested illegally segregated bus terminals.

Participating in these nonviolent demonstrations was not easy.

Activists regularly risked their freedoms and safety.

Many, including Lewis, were arrested and beaten for the demonstrations, but John Lewis kept up the fight.

In the early 1960s, he became a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC.

This evolved into the main student organization in the American Civil Rights Movement, and it was in SNCC that Lewis grew as a leader.

In 1963, Lewis moved to Atlanta, home of the Appeal for Human Rights, after he was elected chairman of SNCC.

He earned the vote and respect of his peers for the number of times he was brutalized during non-violent protests and for his longstanding relationship with Martin Luther King Jr., whom Lewis first met when he was only 18.

As a leader, John Lewis focused on desegregation, racial equality, and voting rights.

He organized sit-ins, boycotts, and more freedom rides.

He even opened for Dr.

King's speech at the March on Washington.

Yep, the famous speech that goes, (Applause) "I have a dream."

At the age of 23, Lewis was the youngest speaker that day.

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed into federal law, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

But the fight still wasn't over.

In 1965, Lewis and other activists planned a peaceful march from Selma, Alabama to the state capitol of Montgomery to demand equal voting rights in Alabama.

Selma was chosen as the starting point for a couple of reasons.

First, it's low voter registrations among black residents.

Around this time, Dallas County, in which Selma is located, had a majority black population, 57% in fact, but only 2% of eligible black voters were even registered.

The second reason was in response to the death of Jimmy Lee Jackson.

An activist and deacon who was fatally shot by a white state trooper during a peaceful march in nearby Marion, Alabama, in February 1965.

So on March 7th, that year, John Lewis led 600 marchers to bring attention to this discrimination and injustice.

But they were met by a wall of state troopers who were poised to attack with clubs, tear gas, and masks.

Alabama's Governor George Wallace ordered state troopers to use whatever measures are necessary to prevent a march, and they did.

This day, known as Bloody Sunday, was broadcast live on TV to 50 million Americans.

The footage was shocking and upsetting, to say the least.

Lewis, who suffered a skull fracture that day, was one of 50 people treated for injuries at the local hospital.

But the fight for equal rights continued.

The outrage over Bloody Sunday led to more protests, and caught the attention of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who issued a public statement condemning the violence and worked with Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, outlawing discriminatory voting laws.

John Lewis was beaten, arrested, and jailed approximately 40 times for his participation in nonviolent civil rights protests, but he never gave up.

Known for coining the phrase "good trouble," Lewis encouraged young people to stand up against injustices by taking bold, nonviolent action to challenge systemic inequality.

His accomplishments and commitment to nonviolent activism kept him motivated as he transitioned into a life of politics.

From 1981 to 1986, John Lewis served as an elected official on the Atlanta City Council.

He was then elected to the U.S.

House of Representatives in 1986, and represented Georgia's 5th district for 17 consecutive terms.

He won several awards for his community work, including the NAACP Award, the John F. Kennedy Profile Award, the Martin Luther King Jr.

Nonviolent Peace Prize, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He also helped push for the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and authored several books including a graphic novel trilogy, "March," which was written for young adults who want to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement.

On July 17th, 2020, John Lewis passed away from cancer, but he left behind a significant legacy.

He demonstrated that even ordinary people have the power to make extraordinary change.

Consider how our communities might be different without the efforts of people like John Lewis, and think about the impact you, even at a young age, have on the world around you.