“Democracy is not a state. It is an act…Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
Figure timeline
John Lewis
John Robert Lewis was an American civil rights activist and statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
politics · American politician and civil rights leader (1940–2020) · politician · chairperson · human rights defender · also John Lewis, John Robert Lewis, Lewis
Born 21 February 1940 · Died 17 July 2020 · Q45380
128 published statements · 0 followers
See & hear
Photos & media
14 photos · 1 audio · 1 video
Video
House Democrats stage sit-in on House floor (C-SPAN)
Listen
Rep. John Lewis on a Resolution Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Media from Wikimedia Commons, hotlinked at the source under its own licence — see each file for author and terms.
Live now
In the news
Pulling headlines from trusted outlets — this usually takes a few seconds
Checking the wires…
Feed scan
These are live links, not archived citations — they only join the timeline once a collect run verifies and archives them.
Live pulse
Recent highlights
Most recent outstanding titles, awards, and quotes
- Quote
- Quote
2026· 16 entries
“s inauguration because he did not believe that Trump was the true elected president.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
“If someone had told me this would be happening now, I would have told them they were crazy, out of their mind, they didn”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
“He is not king, he is president.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
“We were determined not to let any act of violence keep us from our goal. We knew our lives could be threatened, but we had made up our minds not to turn back.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
“good trouble, necessary trouble”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
Vietnam.vn: El Newcastle exige más de 68 millones de libras por Lewis Hall, lo que supone un desafío para las ambiciones de fichajes del Manchester United.
- #news
- #headline
- #transfer
Vietnam.vn: El Newcastle exige más de 68 millones de libras por Lewis Hall, lo que pone en peligro los planes de fichajes del Manchester United.
- #news
- #headline
- #transfer
La Ganzua: Outono Codax 2026: conciertos de Kitty, Daisy and Lewis, The Sadies y The Fuzztones en noviembre
- #news
- #headline
VailDaily.com: Column | Lewis: Science first, politics second
- #news
- #headline
Yahoo Sports: Man United accelerate left-back signing plan after Lewis Hall latest
- #news
- #headline
The Guardian: Arteta demands ‘desire and ambition’ for title defence and says Lewis-Skelly will stay
- #news
- #headline
Full Fact rated the claim “John Lewis is giving away a full size bottle of Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait de Parfum for £3 to people over 25 who fill out a survey.” False. John Lewis confirmed this is not a genuine offer..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
Full Fact rated the claim “John Lewis is selling a North Face Retro Denali jacket for £3 to people who fill in a quick survey.” False. This is not a genuine John Lewis offer..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
Public attention spiked: 3,218 Wikipedia readers in one day, 3.5× the usual 927, with 0 article edits.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #attention
- #spike
- #pageviews
Public attention spiked: 3,297 Wikipedia readers in one day, 3.6× the usual 927, with 0 article edits.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #attention
- #spike
- #pageviews
2025· 4 entries
Full Fact rated the claim “John Lewis is giving away Staub cast iron pots for £10 to over-50s who fill out an online form.” John Lewis has confirmed this offer is not genuine..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
Full Fact rated the claim “John Lewis is offering Bugaboo Butterfly strollers for £2 or £3.” False. John Lewis has confirmed that no such offer exists..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
Full Fact rated the claim “John Lewis is selling Doona car seat strollers for less than £10 to people who fill in a survey.” False. This is not a genuine John Lewis offer..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
Full Fact rated the claim “John Lewis is offering Bugaboo Butterfly pushchairs for £2 or £3 to people who complete a questionnaire.” False. This is not a legitimate John Lewis offer..
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
2021· 1 entry
A year after his death, as it was one of his last endeavours before he died
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2020· 12 entries
AFP Fact Check rated the claim “Social distancing was not practiced at John Lewis's funeral” FALSE.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
AFP Fact Check rated the claim “DC mayor is exempting from COVID-19 self-quarantine Congress members who attended John Lewis funeral” Misleading.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
Snopes rated the claim “A photograph shows maskless Democrats at the funeral of U.S. Rep. John Lewis in July 2020.” Miscaptioned.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
Lewis's casket left the U
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
His casket, carried in a horse-drawn caisson, traveled the same route over the bridge that he walked during the Bloody Sunday march from Selma to Montgomery, before his lying in state at the Alabama State Capitol in Mont
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Lewis died in Atlanta at the age of 80, on the same day in the same city as his friend and fellow civil rights activist C
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Died 2020-07-17.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #death
The day after completing a round of chemotherapy, an emaciated Lewis made his last public appearance with a visit to a large Black Lives Matter mural painted on the surface of Sixteenth Street in Washington, D
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Published video “Congressman Lewis' Small Business COVID-19 Webinar”.
- #social
- #youtube
- #self-published
A day before Biden effectively secured the Democratic nomination
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
“I have been in some kind of fight – for freedom, equality, basic human rights – for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
- #wikiquote
- #saying
- #undated
- #lang:en
- #corroborated
Campaign: 2020 presidential election.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #election
- #campaign
2019· 11 entries
Lewis, then 79 years old, announced that he had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Published video “Rep. John Lewis Supports NAFTA 2.0/USMCA Agreement”.
- #social
- #youtube
- #self-published
Published video “Rep. John Lewis on Impeachment”.
- #social
- #youtube
- #self-published
Published video “Rep. John Lewis Supports NAFTA 2.0/USMCA”.
- #social
- #youtube
- #self-published
Published video “Rep. John Lewis Gavels Vote on Voting Rights Advancement Act”.
- #social
- #youtube
- #self-published
Published video “Rep. John Lewis Honors Senator Johnny Isakson”.
- #social
- #youtube
- #self-published
Published video “Rep. Lewis Speaks on Healthcare Obstacles for Aging Americans”.
- #social
- #youtube
- #self-published
Published video “Rep. John Lewis Remembers Rep. John Conyers”.
- #social
- #youtube
- #self-published
Published video “Rep. John Lewis Speaks on Healthcare”.
- #social
- #youtube
- #self-published
Published video “Rep. John Lewis Mourns Passing of Rep. Elijah Cummings”.
- #social
- #youtube
- #self-published
Career landmark: United States representative (2019–2020).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
2018· 2 entries
“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. — A tweet from June 2018”
- #wikiquote
- #saying
- #lang:en
Lewis and Andrew Aydin co-wrote another graphic novel as a sequel to the March series entitled Run, which documents Lewis's life after the passage of the Civil Rights Act
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2017· 9 entries
Awarded Inkpot Award (2017).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Awarded Glyph Comics Award for Best Writer (2017).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Awarded Michael L. Printz Award (2017).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Awarded Walter Dean Myers Award (2017).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Snopes rated the claim “Congressman John Lewis didn't pay property taxes on his townhouse in Washington, D.C.” Unproven.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
Claimed: “Donald Trump's inauguration "will be the first one that I miss since I’ve been in the Congress."” — rated False by FactCheck.org.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-by-figure
Snopes rated the claim “President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration will be the first presidential inauguration that Rep. John Lewis has skipped.” False.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
- #fact-check
- #rated
- #claim-about-figure
During an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd for Meet the Press, Lewis stated: "I don't see the president-elect as a legitimate president
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Career landmark: United States representative (2017–2019).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
2016· 4 entries
House Democrats, led by Lewis and Massachusetts Representative Katherine Clark, began a sit-in demanding House Speaker Paul Ryan allow a vote on gun-safety legislation in the aftermath of the Orlando nightclub shooting
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Awarded National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2016).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Campaign: 2016 presidential election.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #election
- #campaign
It was announced that a future United States Navy underway replenishment oiler would be named USNS John Lewis
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2015· 3 entries
And immediately became both a New York Times and Washington Post bestseller for graphic novels
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
That he had known the young activists Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman from New York
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Career landmark: United States representative (2015–2017).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
2014· 1 entry
At Michigan State University, Georgia State University, and Marquette University
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2013· 2 entries
Lewis became the first member of Congress to write a graphic novel, with the launch of a trilogy titled March
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Career landmark: United States representative (2013–2015).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
2012· 1 entry
Lewis released Across That Bridge, written with Brenda Jones, to mixed reviews
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2011· 3 entries
Won Presidential Medal of Freedom presented by Barack Obama (2011).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #trophy
- #achievement
The House passed a resolution 268–145, calling for a withdrawal of the United States military from the air and naval operations in and around Libya
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Career landmark: United States representative (2011–2013).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
2010· 1 entry
Lewis was awarded the first LBJ Liberty and Justice for All Award, given to him by the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, and the next year, Lewis was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2009· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States representative (2009–2011).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
2008· 4 entries
Lewis formally changed his support and endorsed Obama
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
However, he announced he was considering withdrawing his support from Clinton and might instead cast his superdelegate vote for Barack Obama: "Something is happening in America and people are prepared and ready to make t
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Thomas decided to challenge Lewis again; Markel Hutchins also contested the race
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Campaign: 2008 presidential election.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #election
- #campaign
2007· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States representative (2007–2009).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
2006· 1 entry
And 2009 he was arrested for protesting against the genocide in Darfur outside the Sudanese embassy
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2005· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States representative (2005–2007).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
2004· 1 entry
Lewis received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member James Earl Jones
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2003· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States representative (2003–2005).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
2002· 2 entries
Won Spingarn Medal (2002).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #trophy
- #achievement
Sponsored the Peace Tax Fund bill, a conscientious objection to military taxation initiative that had been reintroduced yearly since 1972
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2001· 4 entries
Awarded Profile in Courage Award (2001).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Because he believed that he too was not a legitimately elected president
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Three days after the September 11 attacks, Lewis voted to give President George W
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Career landmark: United States representative (2001–2003).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
2000· 1 entry
Awarded Library of Congress Living Legend (2000).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
1999· 4 entries
Won Wallenberg Medal (1999).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #trophy
- #achievement
Awarded Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards (1999).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Lewis was awarded the Wallenberg Medal from the University of Michigan in recognition of his courageous lifelong commitment to the defense of civil and human rights
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Career landmark: United States representative (1999–2001).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1998· 3 entries
Awarded Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights (1998).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Awarded Lillian Smith Book Award (1998).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
When Clinton was considering a military strike against Iraq, Lewis said he would back the president if American forces were ordered into action
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1997· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States representative (1997–1999).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1996· 1 entry
2004, 2006, and 2008, and again in 2014 and 2018
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1995· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States representative (1995–1997).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1994· 2 entries
When he defeated Republican Dale Dixon by a 38-point margin, 69%–31%
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
When Clinton considered invading Haiti, Lewis opposed armed intervention
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1993· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States representative (1993–1995).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1992· 1 entry
Defeated State Representative Mable Thomas 76–24%
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1991· 2 entries
Career landmark: United States representative (1991–1993).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
Lewis became the senior chief deputy whip in the Democratic caucus
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1989· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States representative (1989–1991).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1988· 1 entry
The year after he was sworn into Congress, Lewis introduced a bill to create a national African American museum in Washington
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1987· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States representative (1987–1989).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1982· 1 entry
Career landmark: council member (1982–1986).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1981· 1 entry
Lewis ran for an at-large seat on the Atlanta City Council
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1976· 1 entry
Had a son, who also works in politics
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1970· 1 entry
Lewis became the director of the Voter Education Project (VEP), a position he held until 1977
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1969· 1 entry
Studied at Fisk University, Bachelor of Arts (1969).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #education
1966· 1 entry
Lewis moved to New York City to take a job as the associate director of the Field Foundation of New York
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1965· 4 entries
– a day that would become known as "Bloody Sunday" – Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams led over 600 marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Lewis organized some of the voter registration efforts during the 1965 Selma voting rights campaign, and became nationally known during his prominent role in the Selma to Montgomery marches
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
From Selma to Montgomery – a route Lewis worked to make part of the Historic National Trails program
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Lewis led the first of three Selma to Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where, in an incident that became known as Bloody Sunday, state troopers and police attacked Lewis and the other marchers
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1964· 1 entry
SNCC opened Freedom Schools, launched the Mississippi Freedom Summer for voter education and registration
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1963· 3 entries
When Charles McDew stepped down as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lewis, a founding member, was elected to take over
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
“I appeal to all of you to get into this great revolution that is sweeping this nation. Get in and stay in the streets of every city, every village and hamlet of this nation until true freedom comes, until the revolution of 1776 is complete. — At the 1963 March on Washington”
- #wikiquote
- #saying
- #lang:en
“To be very frank, I never saw him, I never met him. I chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee for three years, from 1963 to 1966. I was involved in sit-ins, in the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, the March from Selma to Montgomery ... but I met Hillary Clinton”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
1961· 2 entries
Studied at American Baptist College, Bachelor of Arts (1961).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #education
Lewis became one of the 13 original Freedom Riders
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1956· 1 entry
When I was 16 years old, with some of my brothers and sisters and cousins, going down to the public library, trying to get a library card, and we were told the library was for whites only and not for coloreds
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1955· 1 entry
Lewis first heard Martin Luther King Jr
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1940· 2 entries
The third of ten children of Willie Mae (née Carter) and Eddie Lewis
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Born 1940-02-21.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #birth
1862· 1 entry
And lived until Lewis was seven years old
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1845· 1 entry
The district has been represented by a Democrat for most of its history
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event