John Lewis
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Georgia Faith Leaders Call for April 7 Boycott if Companies Don’t Step Up Fight Against Voter Restriction Laws; Stacey Abrams Says Hold Off
Georgia Republicans’ recent passage of voter suppression measures is facing a building challenge from stakeholders in the state, and corporations continue to be called on to play a larger role in the fight for voting rights. On Thursday, faith leaders from Georgia—including African Methodist Episcopal Bishop Reginald T. Jackson—announced their push for a boycott of…
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University of Alabama Removes Name of Noted Segregationist George C. Wallace From Building
It’s weird that so many struggle to believe that America was built on racism when so many of our buildings and monuments are dedicated to people who fought to preserve institutional racism. A building at the University of Alabama at Birmingham named after George C. Wallace has been renamed because of Wallace’s historical support of…
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Selma, Ala., Lawmaker Announces Legislation That Would Allow Voters to Change the Name of Edmund Pettus Bridge
Legislation was introduced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day that would allow voters to change the name of the historical Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. According to NBC News, the legislation was announced by Democratic State Senator Malika Sanders-Fortier. Sanders-Fortier released a statement saying that the legislation is meant “to give local people the…
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Exclusive: Alvin Ailey Presents a Stirring Tribute to Rep. John Lewis, Choreographed by Jamar Roberts
It’s nearly impossible to adequately express the range of feelings and emotions that occur when we lose someone as pivotal to our history as the late Rep. John Lewis. For creatives, it’s a type of block usually dissolved by expressing oneself in another way—through art. This is certainly the case with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater’s…
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Yamiche Alcindor Reflects on the Late Congressman John Lewis' Lasting Impact
“I get emotional just thinking about the fact that [John Lewis] in his last days still had advice, still had something to give to us.” — Yamiche Alcindor, Journalist, 2020 The Root 100 Honoree text Yamiche Alcindor holds the late civil rights titan John Lewis in high regard. That’s why the PBS NewsHour White House…
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Dawn Porter on Documenting Rep. John Lewis: 'Telling Untold and Overlooked Stories Is Good Trouble'
It’s been a few months since the world lost one of its greatest, Rep. John Lewis, and of course, his grand legacy will live on. One of the ways that has been made possible is the recent documentary chronicling his 60-plus years of activism, John Lewis: Good Trouble. Directed by Dawn Porter, John Lewis: Good…
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The March on Washington Film Festival Goes Virtual in 2020, Keeping Our Stories at the Center
Like many film festivals, the March on Washington Film Festival (MOWFF) is typically held in a physical location (in MOWFF’s case, Washington D.C.) but in 2020, everyone is all about the pivot to virtual. The 8th annual MOWFF is doing the same this year, hosting more than 20 events over seven days, including documentaries, panel…
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Building at Troy University Formerly Named for KKK Leader Renamed After John Lewis
A building at Troy University in Alabama, once named after a former governor with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, has been renamed in honor of late congressman John Lewis. CNN reports the university’s board of trustees voted unanimously to change the name of Bibb Graves Hall to John Robert Lewis Hall, effective immediately. Graves…
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Trump Bragged About Low Black Voter Turnout, Disparaged John Lewis in Meeting With Black 'Leaders' in 2017
New details have emerged from a meeting of so-called leaders in the Black community and then President-elect Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2017. Audio obtained by The Independent reveals that during the meeting —which was attended by Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights icon—Trump made…
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It Cost Me $64 to Vote in the Georgia Primary Elections
I am a 23-year-old Black man from Cobb County, Georgia, and it cost me $64 to vote in the Georgia primary elections. Let me explain. As a recent college graduate working out-of-state before starting law school, I have been voting by absentee ballot since 2016. Until this year, I had encountered few issues in casting…