"Civil rights icon John Lewis is being given the nation's highest civilian honor from President Barack Obama.
Lewis is among 15 people who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday. Lewis, a Georgia congressman since 1987, spoke at the 1963 March on Washington before the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech.
He was born the son of southern sharecroppers in an era where his parents were unable to vote, but Lewis went on to organize lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville, Tenn., and in 1965, Lewis led the Selma-to-Montgomery march to petition for voting rights. Marchers were brutally confronted in the incident, which became known as 'Bloody Sunday.'
When the 70-year-old Lewis learned he would be among this year's honorees, he said he was nearly moved to tears at the news."
http://www.41nbc.com/news/state-news/1301-civil-rights-icon-john-lewis-receiving-medal-of-freedom
Congratulations on this highest of civilian honors.
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