WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
Congressman John Lewis’ life’s work has changed the very fabric of this country. Born in the heart of the Jim Crow South, in the shadow of slavery, he saw the profound injustice all around him and knew, from a young age, that he wanted to do something about it. By his late teens, he had joined the first Freedom Riders and later became the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), one of the groups responsible for organizing the 1963 March on Washington. On August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, John Lewis gave his own rousing speech alongside some of the greatest leaders of the civil rights movement, including Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Known as “Bloody Sunday,” Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams led approximately 600 marchers from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to protest the insidious racial discrimination that was systematically preventing black citizens from exercising their right to vote. At the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the marchers were met by white demonstrators waving Confederate flags and by state troopers who used brutal force and tear gas to push them back. The entire assault was captured on camera and televised across the country, forcing America to reckon with the horrific racism raging across the South and, ultimately, paving the way for the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
During the protest, John Lewis was hit on the head by a state trooper and suffered a fractured skull. On Bloody Sunday, Lewis risked his life for the right to vote and has since devoted his life to ensuring that every American has access to the ballot box.
Rate PG for thematic material including some racial epithets/violence, and for smoking. No tickets are required for this free event.
