and Rosa Parks, who stood up for their people’s rights no matter the cost. He was inspired by their words, and their commitment to nonviolent acts. He wanted to be like them. He thought that desegregating Troy College would be a good start, but his parents convinced him not to, so instead he attended the American Baptist Theological Institute and Fisk University. He liked to attend sit-ins around segregated facilities, and stand up for his people’s rights. He did not believe in people being different because of their race.
At the time, John Lewis was Chairman of the SNCC, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which was a group committed to getting voting rights for African American people. They did huge sit-in’s. For example, once they did one where they sat in restaurants and refused not to be served because of their race. They also became more popular with the Freedom Rides, which John Lewis was also a big part in. The Freedom Riders were people who rode in buses that were strictly not allowed for them because of their race. People were arrested because of this, but nobody backed down. Everybody wanted Equal