Sydney Jenkins 02/09/17
On January to go listen to Civil Rights Activist John Lewis speak at Lagrange College. Often called “one of the most courageous persons the Civil Rights Movement ever produced”, John Lewis is a civil rights activist who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. & contributed to the rights we have today. A couple of things he is famous for are the lunch counter sit-ins , the March On Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and The Freedom-Rides. He is is currently the Congressman of District 5.
Representative John Lewis came to present the annual MLK address. He started off by talking about his childhood and how it was very difficult growing up due to all the segregation going on around him. He says that the first time he ever heard Martin Luther King Jr. speak was when he was 14 and he was on the radio, he was so inspired by how he would stick up for people. And it encouraged him to do the same thing.
The experience of getting to listen to him speak was amazing. It was just like hearing a modern day “I Have A Dream” speech. One thing that I took out of the speech was to always enjoy life, because it could be a lot worse, he talked about how he would get attacked,things thrown at him and not be able to walk around without being stereotyped. The overall statement that stuck out to me during the speech is how Mr. Lewis said that when you see something that is wrong or not right to stand up and do/say something. Because that’s something that he did, and that’s part of why he is who he is today and why other people are able to enjoy more rights and freedom.
