John Lewis (1) (1940–2020)

Every American should know about the pain and sacrifice suffered by those activists who insisted that African Americans in the South should be able to vote. John Lewis was at the center of the movement, and was beaten, harassed, and jailed. Now he is a Congressman. In 2013, the US Supreme Court effectively neutered the Voting Rights Act. Since then, we have seen an onslaught of attempts, whether through gerrymandering or onerous requirements, to disenfranchise as many people of color as possible.

March 3 combines a visceral first person account with some inside baseball specifics of how a grass roots nonviolent movement can eventually win over a resistant populace.… (mer)

What is most important about the March series is that it goes into specifics not just the important events leading up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but the strategy and internal conflict within the various organizations that made up the civil rights movement. Here we have the backstory of how John Lewis joined the movement, and the early victories in desegregating lunch counters in Nashville, where Lewis went to divinity school.

Training in principles of non-violence was essential to the success of the movement. This is a point that is increasingly important in today's civil rights activism - people need to be educated not just in the ideas behind the movement, but the strategy that can best effect structural change.… (mer)