1960s-era civil rights leader is inspiring a new generation

John Lewis was a disciple of Martin Luther King and marched on Washington in 1963. Last week, he led a sit-down protest in Congress, says Peniel Joseph

JOHN Lewis, the civil rights leader who marched with Martin Luther King Jr and who was brutalised by police in Selma, Alabama, during the 1965 ‘Bloody Sunday’ demonstration for voting rights, brought the movement to the floor of the US House of Representatives last week.

He reaffirmed his status as not just a civil rights legend, but also as one of the greatest living American politicians of his generation.