The Transformative Justice Coalition and the Voting Rights Alliance, in honor of Black History Month, are reviving the daily special series devoted to sharing the legacies and stories of the sheroes, heroes, and events in the fight for Black suffrage. This series was created in 2017 and added 4 NEW articles this year, and several newly revised, updated, or corrected ones. In addition to these daily newsletters all February long, this series also incorporates daily social media posts; an interactive calendar; and, website blog posts to spread the word broadly.

We encourage everyone to share this series to your networks and on social media under the hashtag #VRABlackHistory. You can also tweet us @TJC_DC to share your own facts.

Barbara Arnwine insisted that we could not have another year without publishing our Black History series! All month long, we have honored, recognized, and educated about a person, organization, or event, spanning over 5 centuries and told in chronological order, about those moments that forever changed the movement for African-American suffrage. The Transformative Justice Coalition thanks those who have been republishing our articles, on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, your websites, and even in the Tennessee Tribune. Over the 28 days of February 2022, these Black History emails were opened over 65,000 times, with over 600 individual clicks. You have responded to these emails with corrections, more information, asks to republish the series, and by expressing your thanks. We want to also extend our gratitude for your appreciation of the history this series shares.

This article is written by Caitlyn Cobb. All the sources are linked throughout the article with a full reference list at the end of the full article which can be read by clicking the button at the bottom of the page). This is an introductory summary page.

February 25th, 2022, we honored Congressman John Lewis, who fought for equality and voting rights his entire life. Congressman John Lewis put his heart, soul, skin, blood, and tears into the fight for African-American suffrage. Congressman John Lewis was “ a leading participant in nearly all of the pivotal events of the civil rights movement”. Congressman Lewis:

- participated in the 1960 Nashville sit-ins;

- helped form in 1960 and was chairman of from 1963-1966 the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee;

- participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides;

- helped organize registration drives through the SNCC starting in 1962;

- was an architect of and youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom;

- helped lead the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery Marches and was one of the seventeen people hospitalized on Bloody Sunday;

- was head of the Voter Education Project from 1970-1977;

- was elected to his first official government office as an Atlanta City Council member in 1981; and,

- has served thirteen consecutive terms as Congressman of Georgia’s 5th Congressional District since 1987, where he still advocates regularly for voting rights for all.

"John Robert Lewis, the son of sharecroppers who survived a brutal beating by police during a landmark 1965 march in Selma, Alabama, to become a towering figure of the civil rights movement and a longtime US congressman...died after a six-month battle with cancer. He was 80." He died on July 17th, 2020.

Note from the author: This article was originally written in 2017, updated in 2020, and updated again this year. The new 2022 update is at the beginning of this article and focuses on Lewis’ legacy.