The death of John Lewis, the Alabama-born civil rights activist, Freedom Rider and student leader turned Georgia congressman, represents a generational transition in America’s long struggle for Black freedom, dignity and citizenship. John Lewis: Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey lead tributes to civil rights hero Read moreAs a student organizer, Lewis braved repeated arrests, jail stints and death threats during protests to end the Jim Crow system of racial segregation that maintained a stranglehold on American democracy. Barack Obama’s election helped ensure Lewis’s national veneration since he, in contrast to Jesse Jackson, became the first Black president’s favorite living civil rights icon. Lewis, at an early age, recognized the Black freedom struggle as a marathon and not a sprint. On this score he met and admired Malcolm X even as he retained an unswerving commitment to non-violent civil disobedience.

Source: The Guardian July 19, 2020 17:48 UTC