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'We have a right as humans to be free': Civil rights icon John Lewis shares his story of struggle with F-M students

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- John Lewis wasn't allowed to check out a book from his local library when he was growing up in rural Alabama during the strict racial segregation of the Jim Crow era.

Congressman John Lewis, an integral person in the Civil Rights Movement, talks about being in some of the marches during a special presentation to faculty, staff and students Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, at Concordia College. Lewis, along with Andrew Aydin, seated at left, and illustrator Nate Powell, center, created a book, "March: Book Three." Seated at right is Richard Chapman of the Concordia College history department. Dave Wallis / Forum News Service
Congressman John Lewis, an integral person in the Civil Rights Movement, talks about being in some of the marches during a special presentation to faculty, staff and students Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, at Concordia College. Lewis, along with Andrew Aydin, seated at left, and illustrator Nate Powell, center, created a book, "March: Book Three." Seated at right is Richard Chapman of the Concordia College history department. Dave Wallis / Forum News Service

MOORHEAD, Minn. - John Lewis wasn't allowed to check out a book from his local library when he was growing up in rural Alabama during the strict racial segregation of the Jim Crow era.

But years later, as a congressman and famous civil rights activist, Lewis was given a library card at the once-forbidden library during an appearance there to promote his first book, "Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement."

The arc of Lewis' extraordinary life shows the turmoil of the nonviolent struggles that many blacks and their supporters waged for civil rights in the 1960s - and it reveals the significant progress achieved by those, like Lewis, who were willing to face police "dogs and firehoses."

Lewis, 77, told his story Tuesday, Oct. 17, during an appearance at Concordia College along with two co-authors of his graphic book trilogy, "March." The audience included about 250 local high school students who attended with the congressman's encouragement.

At the age of 18, Lewis met Martin Luther King, an encounter that changed the trajectory of his life. He had grown up on a 110-acre farm, the son of sharecroppers whose boyhood job was to tend the chicken flock, which he used as a test audience while practicing to become a preacher.

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After meeting King, Lewis dedicated his life to the civil rights struggle. In 1961, he was among a group of blacks and white supporters who were bloodied while trying to board a segregated bus, a move meant to test a recent court decision.

Years later, a man in his 70s and his 40-year-old son showed up in Lewis' congressional office in Washington. "I'm here to apologize," the man said, explaining that he was one of those who'd beaten Lewis years earlier. "Will you forgive me?"

The three men, all in tears, hugged. "It is the power of peace," Lewis said. "It is the power of the philosophy of nonviolence. It is the power of love."

Not much more than 25 years after the bus incident - one of many violent responses Lewis endured in the struggle - he was elected to a district in Congress that includes part of Atlanta. That, as Lewis noted, was extraordinary, considering Georgia once denied blacks the right to vote.

"We had to change that," he said. Lewis was arrested 40 times while protesting inequality in the 1960s and '70s, and has been arrested five times since he was elected to Congress.

"We have a right to protest for what is right," he said.

Despite Lewis' notoriety, the process to get "March" published also was a struggle, as recounted by his co-author Andrew Aydin, who came up with the idea of a comic book depiction of Lewis' life as an activist.

Aydin and Lewis, who joined with graphic illustrator Nate Powell, faced many rejections until a publisher said yes - a lesson in determination and perseverance, Aydin told the audience. Ultimately, "March: Book Three" won the National Book Award, a first for a comic book.

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"You have to give everything" to accomplish your goals, Aydin said. He noted that the civil rights movement didn't have smartphones and social media as organizing means, and asked the Concordia audience to think about how Martin Luther King or Ghandi would use the tools.

"When we don't organize, we can be overwhelmed," he said.

Aydin was echoing words spoken by Lewis, who encouraged his audience to fight for comprehensive immigration reform.

"You have a role to play. Play it well," the congressman said. The message of the "March" trilogy, he added, was "We have a right as humans to be free."

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