Congressman John Lewis to Speak at Clayton State’s Fifth Annual MLK Commemorative Event

A second keynote address has been added to Clayton College & State University’s Fifth Annual Martin Luther King Day Commemorative Event. United States Congressman John Lewis, one of the pioneers of the Civil Rights movement, will deliver the Event’s first keynote address Jan. 18, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. in Spivey Hall, on the Clayton State campus.

Dr. Mary Frances Berry, chairperson of the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights since November 1993, will deliver the Event’s second keynote address for Clayton State’s annual remembrance of Dr. King and his work at 7 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2005, also in Spivey Hall on the University’s main campus in Morrow. Both keynote addresses are free and open to the public, although seating is limited to 400 on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The theme of Clayton State’s 2005 MLK Event, which will run from Jan. 17 to Jan. 26 is “Reconciliation and Unity: The Role of Civil Rights in Civic Engagement.”

Described as "One of the most courageous persons the Civil Rights movement ever produced," Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing personal dignity and building what he calls "The Beloved Community." He has displayed a sense of ethics and morality that has won him the admiration of many of his colleagues in the United States Congress.

Lewis was born the son of sharecroppers on Feb. 21, 1940 outside of Troy, Ala. He grew up on his family's farm and attended segregated public schools in Pike County, Ala. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion and Philosophy from Fisk University; and he is a graduate of the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville.

One of the original “Freedom Riders” in 1961, Lewis from 1963 to 1966 was the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which he helped form, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. By 1963, he was recognized as one of the "Big Six" leaders of the Civil Rights Movement… the others being Whitney Young, A. Phillip Randolph, Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer and Roy Wilkins. He was also one of the planners and a keynote speaker at the historic "March on Washington" in August 1963.

On Mar. 7, 1965, along with fellow activist Hosea Williams, Lewis led more than 600 marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. State troopers attacked the marchers in a confrontation that became known as "Bloody Sunday." That fateful march and a subsequent march between Selma and Montgomery, Ala. led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In 1977, Lewis was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to direct more than 250,000 volunteers of ACTION, the federal volunteer agency. His first electoral success came in 1981, when he was elected to the Atlanta City Council. He resigned from the Council in 1986 to successfully run for Congress.

Lewis currently represents Georgia's Fifth Congressional District, encompassing the entire city of Atlanta and parts of Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton and Cobb counties. He is currently serving his ninth term in office.