ABSTRACT
John Lewis was the congressional representative from Atlanta, Georgia, and a Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives. Yet Lewis had one basic personal trait that would enable him to become a leader in twentieth-century America's transformative social movement. The life of John Lewis in many ways parallels the course of the civil rights movement during these years and well illustrates the contribution of that movement to the institutions of American politics. John Lewis's inclusion on the short list of speakers certified the rise of Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to national standing along with the venerable NAACP and the quieter Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The marchers, led by Lewis, extended the conflict from a confrontation between Alabama blacks and Alabama troopers to a national struggle over basic democratic rights. With these new allies the media, religious groups, white citizens and congressional leaders of both parties they won their goal, the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
