[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 84 (Thursday, June 13, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4483-S4484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 170--COMMEMORATING JOHN LEWIS ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY 
  OF HIS CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE

  Mr. ISAKSON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 170

       Whereas Congressman John Robert Lewis was born on February 
     21, 1940, outside of Troy, Alabama, to parents Eddie and 
     Willie Mae (Carter) Lewis;
       Whereas John Lewis has devoted his life to safeguarding 
     human rights, protecting civil liberties, and building what 
     he calls ``the Beloved Community'' in the United States;
       Whereas John Lewis grew up on a farm in a family of 
     sharecroppers and attended segregated public schools in Pike 
     County, Alabama;
       Whereas, drawing inspiration at an early age from the 
     dedication and bravery demonstrated through the Montgomery 
     Bus Boycott and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., John 
     Lewis joined the movement to secure the basic equal rights 
     guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States;
       Whereas, while studying at Fisk University, where he earned 
     a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Philosophy, John Lewis led 
     the charge by unifying and organizing volunteers for sit-in 
     demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, 
     Tennessee;
       Whereas, in 1961, John Lewis showed his bravery and 
     dedication while participating in Freedom Rides, challenging 
     segregation at interstate bus terminals throughout the South, 
     subjecting himself to being beaten by an angry mob, and even 
     being arrested for peacefully confronting the injustice of 
     Jim Crow segregation in the South;
       Whereas, from 1963 to 1966, at a pivotal point in the Civil 
     Rights Movement, John Lewis was named Chairman of the Student 
     Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which he helped found, 
     orchestrating student activism in the Movement, including 
     sit-ins, voter registration drives, community action 
     programs, and other activities;
       Whereas, at the young age of 23, John Lewis achieved 
     national recognition and respect as 1 of the ``Big Six'' 
     leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, both planning and 
     speaking at the historic March on Washington in August 1963, 
     along with fellow leaders and friends such as Martin Luther 
     King, Jr.;
       Whereas, along with many others, John Lewis demonstrated 
     great courage by risking his life and casting light on the 
     senseless cruelty of the time when he was brutally attacked 
     while leading over 600 peaceful orderly protestors across the 
     Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to demonstrate the 
     need for voting rights, on March 7, 1965, which later became 
     known as ``Bloody Sunday,'' expediting the passage of the 
     Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1971 note; Public Law 
     89-110);
       Whereas, in 1968, John Lewis portrayed wisdom in balancing 
     his advocacy with family, taking Lillian Miles Lewis as his 
     wife and later raising their son, John Miles Lewis, together;
       Whereas John Lewis was elected in 1986 to serve as the 
     United States Representative for Georgia's Fifth 
     Congressional District and has capably and effectively served 
     his constituency since then, serving as Chief Deputy Whip for 
     the House Democratic caucus; and

[[Page S4484]]

       Whereas John Lewis's unwavering ethical and moral 
     principles have garnered admiration and respect from his 
     colleagues on both sides of the aisle: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends Congressman John Lewis of Georgia on the 50th 
     anniversary of his chairmanship of the Student Nonviolent 
     Coordinating Committee; and
       (2) commemorates his legacy of tirelessly working to secure 
     civil liberties for all, thereby building and ensuring a more 
     perfect Union.

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