John Lewis : a life /

Greenberg, David, 1968-

John Lewis : a life / David Greenberg. - Large print edition. - 1281 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm. - Thorndike Press large print biography and memoir. .

Includes bibliographical references (pages 1217-1275)

Part 1: Protest (1940-1968). The boy from Troy ; Nashville ; The sit-ins ; SNCC ; The freedom rides ; Open city ; The March on Washington ; One man, one vote ; Freedom Summer ; Africa ; Selma ; Revolt at Kingston Springs ; Lost in New York ; RFK -- Part 2: Politics (1969-2020). The Voter Education Project ; The first race ; ACTION ; Atlanta ; John vs. Julian ; On the Hill ; The Clinton years ; Ambitions ; In opposition ; "Because of you" ; Rock star ; Conscience of the Congress ; Lion in winter ; Invictus.

Born into poverty in rural Alabama, Lewis would become second only to Martin Luther King, Jr. in his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. He was a Freedom Rider who helped to integrate bus stations in the South, a leader of the Nashville sit-in movement, the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington, and the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which he made into one of the major civil rights organizations. He may be best remembered as the victim of a vicious beating by Alabama state troopers at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he nearly died. Greenberg's biography traces Lewis's life through the post-Civil Rights years, when he headed the Voter Education Project, which enrolled millions of African American voters across the South. The book reveals the little-known story of his political ascent first locally in Atlanta, and then as a member of Congress. Tapped to be a part of the Democratic leadership in Congress, he earned respect on both sides of the aisle for the sacrifices he had made on behalf of nonviolent integration in the South and came to be known as the "conscience of the Congress." Thoroughly researched and dramatically told, Greenberg's biography captures John Lewis's influential career through documents from dozens of archives, interviews with hundreds of people who knew Lewis, and long-lost footage of Lewis himself speaking to reporters from his hospital bed following his severe beating on "Bloody Sunday" in Selma. With new details about his personal and professional relationships, John Lewis: A Life is the definitive biography of a man whose heroism during the Civil Rights movement helped to bring America a new birth of freedom. --

9781420523140 $36.99 1420523147


Lewis, John, 1940-2020.


United States. Congress. House --Biography.


African American civil rights workers--Biography.
Civil rights workers--United States--Biography.
African American legislators--Biography.
Legislators--United States--Biography.


Biographies.
Large print books.

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