“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” — John Lewis, civil rights leader
John Lewis was a civil rights leader who led and helped organize the civil rights movement's freedom rides, the 1963 March on Washington and the Selma to Montgomery marches. Lewis co-founded and and chaired the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and served as a U.S. representative from Georgia from 1987 to 2020.
“The power of the forces of nonviolence,” according to Congressman John Lewis, “was to say to elected officials and to say to the larger American community, we can change, we can help create what Dr. King and Jim Lawson called the beloved community.”
DIRECTIONS
Watch this A Democracy Minute video by Life Stories without taking any notes and reflect on one or two key points that stood out to you (for more background on Lewis, click here). Then watch it again and write down your response to the following question:
How do you understand the relationship between the philosophy and practices of nonviolence and democracy?
You can make your response as short as the quote above or feel free to expand more. Discuss your excerpt with a partner or together as a class noting the commonalities and differences in students' responses.
Share your response under Life Stories' Instagram post and tag @NewsHourExtra, so we can see it, too!
Check out the following list of topics and accompanying learning resources released each Thursday leading up to the presidential election:
Life Stories is a nonprofit media organization that creates documentary films and educational resources about people whose lives inspire meaningful change. This clip is part of Life Stories' "King In The Wilderness."
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Read the Educator Voice piece, Why "There is no better superhero – fictional or not" than John Lewis," by teacher Tim Smyth.
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