There Was A Turning Point In The Life Of John Lewis

Can you imagine being considered an animal or anything less than a human being? In the 1950’s people of color were treated as less than. There were Jim Crow laws put in place in the South. These laws enforced segregation. Public places such as bathrooms, schools, and even water fountains had separate places for people of color. The “colored” places were always less than the other places. For example, the buses for white people were nice and new and the buses for people of color were old and beaten up hand-me-downs. African Americans along with any other person of color didn’t even have the right to vote or eat lunch in a public diner with white people. In the book March Book One the authors, John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell, write/illustrate

This workshop was held on March 26, 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. This was an important turning point in Lewis’s life because here he learned that he could implement his beliefs, of loving everyone, to make a difference in the real world. John Lewis states “ He spoke of Gandhi, this little brown man from India using the way of nonviolence to free an entire nation of people”(Lewis and Aydin 77). In other words, in the first nonviolence workshop he learned about Gandhi and the way he implemented his peaceful beliefs in freeing his country from the British. John was mesmerized by the fact that Gandhi was actually able to make a positive difference through peaceful protesting. According to Lewis, “His words liberated me, I thought, this is it… This is the way out” (Lewis and Aydin 78). John felt liberated by the fact that Jim Lawson opened his eyes to the fact that there was a way to get the attention of others and to make a difference with peaceful actions. Actions that aligned with his beliefs. Lewis states “ And how we could apply nonviolence, just as Dr.King did in Montgomery, all across America – South and North – to eradicate some of the evils we all faced…”(Lewis and Aydin 77). Lewis didn’t know exactly how he could participate in making a difference the way Dr. King was till Lawson introduced Lewis to the nonviolence protests. Lawson gave Lewis motivation and hope that

Z. Alexander Looby was the lawyer for the group of students that were arrested at Woolworth’s during one of the sit-ins. His house was bombed because he was helping those who were “causing trouble” in Tennessee. According to Lewis, “ By noon, thousands of people had gathered at Tennessee State to march on City Hall'' (Lewis and Aydin 117). Basically, after the house bombing, Lewis along with Diane Nash and thousands of others gathered to march that same day. This showed how united the black community was and how everyone was there for each other. Lewis and the thousands of others didn’t respond to violence with violence. They chose to respond in a peaceful way. When they arrived at City Hall, the mayor said “...you all have the power to destroy this city, so let’s not have any mobs. I will do everything I can to enforce the laws without prejudice–” (Lewis and Aydin 118). The mayor knew how angry the people were and was afraid of what they would do. Lewis then was reminded how powerful the people can become if they work together. Lewis and Diane Nash spoke to the mayor and asked “ Do you recommend that the lunch counters be desegregated? Yes” (Lewis and Aydin 119). When asked if he recommended desegregating the lunch counters, the