John Lewis

Birth Name:

John Robert Lewis

Birth Place:

Troy, Alabama, United States

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 honorary degrees from Brown University, Harvard University and the University of Connecticut School of Law
Received the Profile in Courage Award from the John F․ Kennedy Library Foundation in 2001
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

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