Today's Date: March 24, 2023
Ismael Cala special guest at the World Happiness Summit on Lake Como   •   Scotiabank recognized for executive gender diversity on The Globe and Mail's Women Lead Here list for third consecutive year   •   Fraud.net Certified as a Minority-Owned Business Enterprise   •   Taipei Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2023 Opens with "CrossLab: Dialogue Between Traditional Performance, Craftsmanship and Fashion   •   Softchoice Ranks on The Globe and Mail’s Fourth Annual Women Lead Here Benchmark of Executive Gender Diversity   •   NICKELODEON AND SPIN MASTER CELEBRATE 10 YEARS OF PAW PATROL WITH BRAND-NEW "ALL PAWS ON DECK" PRIMETIME ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL, PR   •   Celebrating 30 Years of the Toyota Production System Support Center   •   Organic Feminine Care Market to Reach $3.9 Billion, Globally, by 2031 at 6.2% CAGR: Allied Market Research   •   A New Day at Danco: Delaware Courts Clear Way for Era of Responsible Leadership and Governance at U.S. License Holder for Mifepr   •   GOLDWIN / Spiber 2023 FW Collection, Made with Brewed Protein™️ Fiber, The First Mass Production of its Kind Now Re   •   Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Reminds Investors of Looming Deadline in the Class Action Lawsuit Against Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, G   •   Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action on Behal   •   Nova Scotians Need a Government That Can Walk and Chew Gum at the Same Time – CUPE   •   AHF Marks World TB Day with Events Worldwide   •   University of Nebraska Omaha Adds YuJa Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform To Suite of Ed-Tech Tools   •   Statement - Joint message from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed and Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu on Worl   •   BMO Recognized for Excellence in Diversity Among Senior Leaders by The Globe and Mail   •   New Efficacy Study Finds Desmos Math 6–8 Significantly Improves Student Learning Outcomes in Middle Grades   •   2nd STREET in the Big Peach; We Have Big News for the Big Peach: 2nd STREET Ponce Will Be Our First Store in the Sweet State of   •   RVYL FINAL DEADLINE NOTICE: ROSEN, NATIONAL TRIAL COUNSEL, Encourages RYVYL Inc. f/k/a Greenbox POS Investors to Secure Counsel
Bookmark and Share

Rep. John Lewis Honored As Civil Rights Champion

WASHINGTON — Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the Civil Rights movement who for decades has been an advocate for peace, freedom and justice, has been awarded the inaugural LBJ Liberty and Justice for All Award by the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation.

"In his lifelong quest for freedom and basic human rights for all, John Lewis embodies the beliefs that President (Lyndon) Johnson held dear — that every citizen should share in the benefits of the privileges and protections that lie at the heart of the American dream," said Larry Temple, chairman of the LBJ Foundation.

The son of sharecroppers outside Troy, Ala., Lewis attended segregated public schools and as a boy was inspired by the radio broadcasts of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He organized sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, Tenn., and joined the Freedom Rides, confronting segregation by sitting in bus seats reserved for white patrons. At the age of 23, Lewis was a keynote speaker — alongside King — at the historic March on Washington.

On March 7, 1965, Lewis and 600 protesters attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery to support voting rights in Alabama. Alabama state troopers blocked them and viciously beat Lewis and his fellow marchers, in a confrontation known as "Bloody Sunday." It was one of dozens of times Lewis would be attacked or arrested during the Civil Rights era.

A week after the march, Lewis and King watched President Johnson notify Congress, in a live television address, that he was introducing the Voting Rights Act to overcome the nation's crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. "We shall overcome," Johnson declared.

"I was deeply moved," Lewis recalled years later. "Lyndon Johnson was no politician that night. He was a man who spoke from his heart. His were the words of a statesman and more."

The speech brought tears to the eyes of King, Lewis remembers. Less than five months later, Johnson would sign the Voting Rights Act into law.

"By honoring Congressman Lewis with the first-ever LBJ Liberty and Justice for All Award, history comes full circle," Temple said.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Ambassador Ron Kirk, the United States trade representative, will serve as honorary chairs at a dinner celebration in Washington to honor Congressman Lewis.

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, a nonprofit organization, supports the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library & Museum and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas in Austin. Started by President and Lady Bird Johnson, the foundation benefits the library by funding work of the archives, researchers, exhibits and public programs. The foundation also supports the LBJ School by providing funds for student scholarships and faculty endowments, with the goal of attracting the best and brightest minds to prepare them for public-policy leadership positions. 

 


STORY TAGS: BLACK, AFRICAN AMERICAN, MINORITY, CIVIL RIGHTS, DISCRIMINATION, RACISM, NAACP, URBAN LEAGUE, RACIAL EQUALITY, BIAS, EQUALITY



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News