The NAACP has actively honored John Lewis’s legacy, both during his lifetime and after his passing. They have recognized his contributions to the civil rights movement, his commitment to “Good Trouble,” and his enduring impact on American society.
The late John Lewis, U.S. representative from Georgia’s 5th District, was born in 1940 in Alabama. This was a time where race relations across the United States were tense. However, this was also the dispensation of time for a civil rights legend to be gifted to the earth.
John Lewis would be on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s, risking his life for the simple right of equality in voting. He was active in sit-ins and freedom rides all over the southern U.S., even in cities where he could have been met with police brutality, and even death. But these threats of violence did not stop his push for civil rights. He was a founder and chairman of three Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committees, and helped organize the 1963 March on Washington.
In 1965, Lewis would lead a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge between Selma and Montgomery, Ala., and would be a victim of police brutality in what we now call Bloody Sunday. This defiance of government overreach, and this powerful stance in the midst of racial inequality, allowed Lewis to make his way to the halls of Congress, where he would continue his fight for civil rights. Though he was a Black man, representing the state of Georgia, he fought for the rights of all people across this nation. John Lewis will forever be an example of steadfastness, boldness, and positive power in action.
The NAACP has embraced and promoted Lewis’s concept of “Good Trouble,” encouraging people to speak out against injustice and work towards a more equitable society. We encourage you, if you are able, to support “Good Trouble” on July 17, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Middlesex County Historic Courthouse located at 865 General Puller Hwy., Saluda.
The NAACP is a nonpartisan organization that stands on civil rights. We are stronger together, if you would like to join or need to renew your membership, please let us know by calling 804-210-6051 or emailing us at middlesexnaacp@gmail.com. They welcome you to their monthly meeting offered on the fourth Thursday of every month at the Cooks Corner Office Complex located at 2893 General Puller Highway, Cooks Corner, at 7 p.m.
