John Robert Lewis (born February 21, 1940) is an American politician and was an important leader in the American Civil Rights Movement as president of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He has represented the 5th District of Georgia (map) in the United States House of Representatives since 1987. The district takes in almost all of Atlanta.

Born in Troy, Alabama, the son of sharecroppers, Lewis was educated at the American Baptist Theological Seminary and at Fisk University, both in Nashville, Tennessee, where he became active in the local sit-in movement, and went on to become an important national leader in the civil rights struggle. After leaving SNCC, he became community affairs director for the National Consumer Co-op Bank in Atlanta and a member of the Atlanta City Council before being elected to the House in 1986, defeating State Senator Julian Bond, a well-known national figure who later headed the NAACP. He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Published Work

• Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement (with Michael D'Orso, 1999)

External links

• Official website
• Project Vote Smart - Political Profile