Representative for Georgia's 5th Congressional District in 1986, where he has served ever since. Lewis's activism led to a long career in politics. deliver his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. He was known as one of the "Big Six" who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington and was the youngest speaker at the march, which also saw Dr. "The next words he said: 'You're under arrest.' And that was my introduction to the state of Mississippi and the city of Jackson," Lewis told The Associated Press in 2018.Ībout two years later, Lewis became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The group were arrested after they refused to comply with the officer's demand that they leave. On May 24, 1961, Lewis and other Black activists were confronted by a police officer in the "white" bathroom of a Jackson bus station. John Lewis was arrested for the "disorderly conduct" of using a "white" bathroom while taking part in the Freedom Rides against segregation in Jackson, Mississippi on May 24, 1961. They also led to police encounters resulting in many arrests, with hundreds of Freedom Riders eventually arrested in Mississippi and sent to Parchman. The rides often led to violent confrontations, with Lewis and other activists being beaten by angry mobs of white people on multiple occasions. ![]() Supreme Court having deemed it unconstitutional. After seeing mugshots of the Bus Boycotters from 1956 and Freedom Riders from 1961 on The Smoking Gun, Janssen was eager to learn more about the individual experiences and unique personalities of the brave activists involved. The 1961 Freedom Rides saw Lewis and other Black civil rights activists, joined by white compatriots, travel by bus while attempting to challenge the practice of segregation, which continued to be enforced in many southern states despite the U.S. ![]() The arrest was only one of 45 times Lewis has been arrested during his many decades in activism, including five times while serving in Congress. Lewis has marked the anniversary while sharing the mugshots to Twitter every year since 2014. 59 years ago today I was released from Parchman Farm Penitentiary after being arrested in Jackson, MS for using a so-called "white" restroom during the Freedom Rides of 1961.
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