In the mid-1900s, America was finally an independent country, but it had many flaws within its undeveloped system. Racism and segregation against African Americans were at their highest levels in the Southern states. With Jim Crow laws in place, the privileges that white Americans had were far greater than those that African Americans had (“Civil Rights Movement,” par. 1). During this time of injustice in our country's history, there were many equal rights activists, both black and white. Although there were many people who aided the cause, one of the most influential civil rights activists was John Lewis. John Lewis is an African American man born on February 21, 1940 into a sharecropper family in Pike County, Alabama (Moye, 2004). . He grew up on the family farm and attended segregated public schools as a child. Even when he was just a young boy, Lewis was always inspired by the events of the civil rights movement. Events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott or hearing the wise words of Martin Luther King Jr. on the radio stimulated his desire to become part of a worthwhile cause, and he has been a supporter of the civil rights movement ever since ("Biography," par. 3). Lewis went to school at both American Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University, both in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from American Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a bachelor's degree in religion and philosophy from Fisk University. While at Fisk, he learned the philosophy of how to be nonviolent and soon incorporated it into his civil rights work ("Biography of John Lewis," par. 3). While a student at Fisk University, Lewis began organizing sit-ins at local lunch counters to protest segregation. Many...... middle of paper......What was Jim Crow?. (n.d.). What was Jim Crow. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm("What Was Jim Crow?")SNCC-People: John Lewis. (n.d.). SNCC-People: John Lewis. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/lewis.html("SNCC-People: John Lewis")SNCC 1960-1966: Six years of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. (n.d.). SNCC 1960-1966: Six years of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/index.html("SNCC 1960-1966: Six Years of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee")SNCC-Events. (n.d.). SNCC-Events. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/events.html("SNCC-Events")Ross, S. (n.d.). Civil rights march on Washington. Information, please. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marchonw(Ross)