The Boy From Troy

He was also an uncommonly insightful boy. He grew extremely attached to his family’s chickens, even naming some of them. He used to preach sermons to his “congregation” of chickens, performing funerals and baptisms for these animals. They were like his own family.

Lewis grew into a heavily ambitious teenager. He was inspired by a sermon he heard from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and he began to publicly preach himself. Dr. King’s message had taken root in his heart.

After he graduated high school, he attended American Baptist Theological Seminary. In college, he truly began to embrace the civil rights movement. He applied to be accepted as a transfer student into Troy University, an all-white institution, but he never heard back from the school. So he decided to contact the one person who could help him in his situation - Dr. King himself. It was during their first meeting that he earned the nickname The Boy From Troy. He continued to wish for a transfer to Troy University, but his parents, fearful of the danger that could come to their family from such an endeavor, refused to give him permission. He was disappointed, but he didn’t let that setback deter him from his dream. He began to engage in nonviolent protests, spreading the word to fellow Theological Seminary students.

Soon, he was deeply involved in nonviolent protests. He participated in sit-ins at downtown lunch counters and movie theaters, fighting through love for equality. He marched publicly, and was arrested multiple times. But he never gave up.

He helped to establish a student-officiated group - Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee - known as SNCC, or Snick. SNCC embraced nonviolence as the way to obtain equality. Lewis continued to march and was part of the famous Freedom Riders group, which fought to ride buses with the same rights whites had. He was also present during Bloody Sunday, the day law enforcement officials brutally repressed a nonviolent march from Selma to Montgomery. He watched the signing of the Civil Rights Bill.

Thankfully, Georgia’s 5th Congressional District recognized Lewis’ invaluable achievements. In 1986, he was elected as their congressman, and he held his position until his death in 2020. He is a true hero of the past, present, and future. All in all, he was one of the major reasons that a large portion of society truly recognizes the evil of racism today.