Rename Edmund Pettus Bridge to John Lewis, Internet rallies to honor hero and his long history with the bridge
Following the death of "Freedom Rider" John Lewis, the internet is demanding that the Edmund Pettus Bridge be renamed in his honor. Lewis, the Representative of Georgia's Fifth Congressional District died on July 17 at the age of 80. He was the youngest and last survivor of the "Big Six" civil rights activists, a group led by Rev Martin Luther King Jr that had a huge impact on the movement.
The news of his passing was confirmed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who deemed him "one of the greatest heroes of American history." Pelosi said on Friday night, "All of us were humbled to call Congressman Lewis a colleague, and are heartbroken by his passing. May his memory be an inspiration that moves us all to, in the face of injustice, make 'good trouble, necessary trouble'."
Lewis had announced in December that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at an advanced stage. He was best known for leading some 600 demonstrators in the 1965 "Bloody Sunday" march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he was brutally beaten by Alabama state troopers. At age 25, he took the lead for the march, where he was knocked down and beaten by the police. Lewis suffered a skull fracture, but the violence and brutality displayed in the South that day grew to national prominence after televised images captured the country's attention and shed light on the rampant racial oppression.
Days later, King led more marches in the state, leading to President Lyndon Johnson pressuring Congress into passing the Voting Rights Act. Introduced as a bill, it soon became law that very same year and lifted the restriction that disallowed Blacks from voting. Lewis revolutionized the opposition to racial segregation and went on to have a long career in the Congress thereafter. Lewis, alongside four other civil rights leaders, also joined King in organizing the historical 1963 Washington March, where he addressed the vast crowd, just as King delivered his notable "I Have a Dream" speech.
Born on February 21, 1940, in the town of Troy, Alabama, to farmers, Lewis grew up in his family's farm and attended segregated public schools. He was a mere teenager when he first heard one of King's speeches on the radio, and eventually met him when Lewis was seeking support to become the first Balck student to attend classes at the segregated Troy State University.
He attended the American Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. He began organizing sit-in demonstration at white-only lunch counters and volunteered as a "Freedom Rider" during which he was subject to beatings and arrest while traveling across the south to protest segregation. He also co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and was made chairman in 1963, making him one of King's "Big Six" at a very young age.
After training excessively in non-violent protests, Lewis and Rev Hosea Williams stood at the forefront of a planned march and led demonstrators over 50 miles from Selma to Montgomery on March 7, 1965. A cluster of police blocked their exit from the Selma Bridge, fired tear gas, swung their batons and charged on horseback, injuring many of the people and shocking the nation. Lewis ventured into politics in 1981, where he was elected to the Atlanta City Council. He won a Congressional seat in 1986. Lewis also previously mentioned that he’d been arrested 40 times in the 1960s, five more times when he assumed the position of a congressman.
Michael Starr Hopkins, founder of Northern Starr Strategies and the John Lewis Bridge project started a petition on change.org to have the Edmund Pettus Bridge renamed. Now considered a National Historic Landmark, the bridge was built in 1940 and named after Edmund Winston Pettus, a former Confederate brigadier general, US Senator and head of the Ku Klux Klan.
Pettus was heavily involved and supported slavery and racism, because of which calls have been made time and again to change the name of the bridge, which would also require approval from the Alabama legislature. A 2010 attempt and 2015 attempt to change the name of the bridge failed. However, on the other hand, Selma residents also believe that changing the name will in no way help to improve race relations in the country.
"A reminder that John Lewis, a giant of the civil rights movement, was beaten within an inch of his life on what is still known as the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Pettus was a grand dragon in the KKK. It should be the John Lewis Bridge. Rename the damn bridge," said author and lawyer Jill Filipovic in a tweet on July 17. "Thank you John Lewis for expanding my mind on what an American is supposed to be and stand for. We as a country are so much the better for it. I'm not sure we are worthy," added another user. "This was the man that helped set up the first march across the edmund pettus bridge without Dr King, This man has fought his whole life against police brutality and White supremacy. RIP John Lewis", a user commented on Twitter.
"At the age of 25, John Lewis suffered a skull fracture at Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge marching for Voting Rights. He devoted his life to fighting for inclusive and fair elections. We must double our efforts and dedicate everything we do between now and November 3 to Mr. Lewis," a user concurred. "John Lewis, among many others, made it famous as the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Let it bear that once-feared racist's name forever as a reminder of the institutional monstrosity that he,+so many others, triumphed over. Honor Lewis in 1000 ways, including a statue on this bridge," said another.
"If you do not march to the voting booths this November like this man marched in 1965 across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma... Do not dare call yourself a patriot. Rest in Power Representative Lewis," a user wrote in a tweet alluding to the upcoming presidential elections in November. Another user observed, "The loss of John Lewis is not only a tragedy for his family and loved ones, but a tragedy for a fractured America. The sooner the state of Alabama renames the Edmund Pettus bridge (named for a Confederate general) to John Lewis bridge, the better. #RIPJohnLewis."