John Lewis Biography

Fast Facts

• Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011
• Honored with a sculpture in 1997 in Ponce de Leone Avenue and Freedom Park in Atlanta
• Received the Profile in Courage Award from the John F․ Kennedy Library Foundation in 2001
• Received honorary degrees from Brown University, Harvard University and the University of Connecticut School of Law
• Studied at the American Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University
• Became involved in non-violent sit-ins in Nashville, which helped desegregate the lunch counters in the city's downtown area
• Participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides, served as the chairman for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and becoming a part of the "Big Six" group of civil rights leaders that organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1962