Civil Rights Vet Urges Grads To Fight For Equality

Almost exactly 50 years ago a young, pre-congressional John Lewis traveled south to struggle for equal rights. He was a member of the original Freedom Riders, who bravely attempted to desegregate the nation's interstate travel system in the face of mob violence and prison time. Today, Rep. John Lewis, (D-Georgia), urged students to continue the struggle for civil rights.

"There is still a need to struggle for peace and justice in our society, said Lewis in his commencement address to the University of Mary Washington's undergraduate class of 2011. "The cause of civil rights is not just the legacy of one group, of one people, but all Americans."

In a speech which balanced humor with his experiences growing up in a segregated society, Lewis thanked the university for honoring the legacy of the 1961 Freedom Rides.

"No other college in America is pausing like you have to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides, so I come here today to say thank you," said Lewis. 

The goal for future generations, Lewis said, was to create a more unified society to live in harmony with our neighbors, regardless of race or creed. 

"We all live in the same house. Not just the house of Virginia, not just the house of Georgia, but the house of America," said Lewis. "It doesn't matter if we are black or white or latino or asian american. We are one people."

Rep. Lewis' speech was one of the highlight events of UMW's commencement weekend, which saw 1,295 students awarded degrees. The night before, California Rep. Bob Filner, another veteran of the Freedom Rides, delivered the graduate school commencement address. 

Lewis was born to sharecroppers on Feb. 21, 1940 near Troy, Al. He was born into a world where jim crow laws mandating racial segregation were the norm. As a child, he attended segregated schools whose materials were substantially inferior to those enjoyed by white children. 

"I tasted the bitter fruits of racial segregation and discrimination," said Lewis. "I remember coming back to my parent's house as a child and asking 'why segregation? why discrimination?' and they said to me that's the way it is."

Lewis took this sense of racial incongruity and worked to end segregation in America, rising to the forefront of the 60's Civil Rights movement. From 1963 to 1966, Lewis was the chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committe, which he helped form. He was one of the primary organizers of the 1963 March on Washington. In 1964, he coordinated voter registration drives during Mississippi Freedom Summer. He was present at the Bloody Sunday march from Selma to Montgomery, when civil rights protesters were attacked by Alabama state troopers. 

Lewis urged the students not to accept injustice in the face of the status quo. He drew on the memory of a departed Freedom Ride veteran, James Farmer, who received the medal of honor for his participation in the Civil Right's movement. 

"James Farmer, this brilliant organizer with a a great voice," said Lewis. "He could sing, and we did sing. When we were beaten, we sand."

Lewis drew on this example of non-violence in the face of brutality as an example for students to follow. 

"You must never give up, you must never give in," said Lewis. "Get out there, push and pull and do your part in creating a beloved community in America. You can do it. You must do it."

Following the address, Daniel K. Steen, rector of the university’s Board of Visitors, conferred an honorary doctor of humane letters degree on Lewis.

He has been awarded over 50 honorary degrees from universities throughout the United State. He also holds a B.A. in religion and philosophy from Fisk University, and he is a graduate of the American Baptist Theological Seminary, both in Nashville, Tennessee.

Lewis was elected to Congress in 1986 and has served as U.S. representative of Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District since then. He is Senior Chief Deputy Whip for the Democratic Party in leadership in the House and is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and chairman of its Subcommittee on Oversight.