U.S. Rep. John Lewis Visits FGCU for Presentation, Book Signing Event Oct. 22 in Celebration of Lee County NAACP 41st Anniversary
10/11/2004

FORT MYERS, FL - U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) visits Florida Gulf Coast University for a free presentation and book-signing event 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 22 in Reed Hall 249 in celebration of Lee County's NAACP 41st anniversary. FGCU invites the public to attend.

Lewis' presentation focuses on the responsibility for young people, African-Americans and Hispanics to vote and addresses issues that are pertinent to the upcoming election. Lewis includes discussions about his life growing up during the Civil Rights movement, how he became a Congressman and what the Civil Rights movement meant for the under-represented vote in America.

Lewis' 1998 book "Walking with the Wind: Memoir of the Movement" is a personal account of the civil rights movement in America. The FGCU Bookstore carries his book.

Lewis' Congressional Web site says, "Described as 'One of the most courageous persons the Civil Rights Movement ever produced,' John Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing personal dignity and building what he calls 'The Beloved Community.' He has displayed a sense of ethics and morality that has won him the admiration of many of his colleagues in the United States Congress.

"During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, from 1963 to 1966, Lewis was the Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which he helped form. SNCC was largely responsible for the sit-ins and other activities of students in the struggle for civil rights.

"Despite more that 40 arrests, physical attacks and serious injuries, John Lewis remained a devoted advocate of the philosophy of nonviolence. After leaving SNCC in 1966, he remained active in the Civil Rights Movement through his work as Associate Director of the Field Foundation and his participation in the Southern Regional Council's voter registration programs. Lewis went on to become the Director of the Voter Education Project (VEP). Under his leadership, the VEP transformed the nation's political climate by adding nearly four million minorities to the voter rolls.

"In 1977, John Lewis was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to direct more than 250,000 volunteers of ACTION, the federal volunteer agency."

For more information, contact assistant director of Multicultural Development Shelly Neal at (239) 590-7921 or sneal@fgcu.edu

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