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A Tribute to a Living Legend: Civil Rights Icon John Lewis

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In 1965, Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams led what was planned as a peaceful 54-mile march through Alabama from Selma to Montgomery. The march, a protest of the discriminatory practices and Jim Crow laws that prevented African Americans from voting, would be remembered in history as “Bloody Sunday,” one of the most dramatic and violent incidents of the American Civil Rights Movement.

Published

6 years ago

January 3, 2020

Oakland Post

John Lewis, who represents Georgia's 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, urges people to be engaged in the ongoing fight for social justice. U.S. Rep. John Lewis' Call to Resist: "The Fight Is Not Over" (Photo: Oprah’s Master Class | OWN / YouTube)

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Millions adore Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) for his selfless and lifelong dedication to civil and equal rights.

Some idolize Lewis like a rock star, while most revere him as an icon.

It is why presidents, politicians, members of Congress, and everyday people have taken time this week to pay tribute to the 79-year-old, 17-term congressman, who announced that he’s battling Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

“If there’s one thing I love about Rep. John Lewis, it’s his incomparable will to fight,” former President Barack Obama wrote on his official Twitter account.

“I know he’s got a lot more of that left in him. Praying for you, my friend,” Obama stated.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and former Tallahassee, Fla., Mayor Andrew Gillum, counted among the masses to send their prayers and heartfelt support to Lewis via social media.

“John Lewis is a giant – an icon of the civil rights movement, a leader in Congress and one of the kindest people I know,” Rep. Omar tweeted. “I’m praying for a speedy and full recovery. We need you making good trouble in the halls of Congress,” she wrote.

Lewis is an “American hero and one of the bravest people I know,” Gillum stated. “It was the honor of my life to get into good trouble with him on the campaign trail.”

Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said the group is praying that Lewis remains strong, vigilant, and relentless in his battle.

“There is no civil rights warrior more dedicated to the cause than John Lewis,” Steele stated. “I know he will wage this battle head-on.”

Members of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of black-owned newspapers across the country, also offered their support for Lewis.

“Rep. John Lewis is a profound leader, humanitarian and civil rights icon who has made his mark on American history and has fought for the rights of all people, especially African Americans in this country,” stated NNPA Chair and Houston Forward Times Publisher Karen Carter Richards.

“I am extremely confident and prayerful that Rep. Lewis will fight this battle of being diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in the same way he has fought and been an example of strength for others his entire life. Praying for a speedy recovery,” Richards stated.

NNPA President and CEO, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., called Lewis a fearless voice and advocate for freedom, justice, and equality both in the halls of the U.S. Congress and in the streets of America.

“John Lewis epitomizes what it means to be a courageous freedom fighter for more than six decades in America and throughout the world,” Chavis stated.

“The Black Press of America salutes the tireless sacrifices and triumphant ideals that the Honorable John Lewis represents today as we go into 2020,” he added.

“The re-enactment of the full Voting Rights Act should be named The John Lewis 2020 Voting Act that he has worked so diligently to see fulfilled for Black Americans and all others who cry out for equality,” Chavis concluded.

Lewis said he’s not looking to give up his work.

“I have decided to do what I know to do and do what I have always done: I am going to fight it and keep fighting for the Beloved Community,” Lewis wrote in a statement.

“We still have many bridges to cross,” he stated.

Born in Troy, Alabama, on February 21, 1940, Lewis and his family were poverty-stricken, but it didn’t stop him from rising among the ranks of America’s most prominent leaders.

He became involved in the Civil Rights Movement while still a student at the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tenn., where he joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Just shy of his 20th birthday in 1960, Lewis was the man behind the successful sit-in movement at segregated lunch counters in Nashville. In 1961, he volunteered to become a member of the Freedom Riders and put his life on the line several times while fighting for equality.

As chairman of the SNCC, a position he served from 1963 to 1965, Lewis earned recognition as one of the “Big Six” of the Civil Rights Movement along with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., A. Phillip Randolph, Whitney Young, James Farmer, and Roy Wilkins.

The group met with President John F. Kennedy to discuss the planning of the “March on Washington.”

In 1963, at just 23, Lewis served as a keynote speaker during the march.

In 1964, he helped coordinate and organized the successful “Mississippi Freedom Summer.”

In 1965, Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams led what was planned as a peaceful 54-mile march through Alabama from Selma to Montgomery. The march, a protest of the discriminatory practices and Jim Crow laws that prevented African Americans from voting, would be remembered in history as “Bloody Sunday,” one of the most dramatic and violent incidents of the American Civil Rights Movement.

The publicity surrounding “Bloody Sunday” and the subsequent march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, led President Lyndon Johnson to push for the Voting Rights Act, passed by Congress on August 6, 1965, according to Lewis’ biography on The HistoryMakers.

Lewis was elected to his first governmental office in 1981, serving as an Atlanta City Council member until 1986. He was then elected to represent Georgia’s 5th Congressional District.

“John Lewis has spent his life bravely out front and center, challenging racism, entrenched systems and evil policies that support power and privilege for some as it oppresses others,” stated NNPA Treasurer and New Journal & Guide Publisher Brenda Andrews.

“He has helped change the laws and heart of the Jim Crow nation into which he was born, making us all a better people. My prayers for his recovery are with him as he confronts this very personal battle,” Andrews stated.

Bobby Henry, the publisher of the Westside Gazette Newspaper in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., recalled his first meeting with Lewis, which occurred more than 20 years ago.

“I met him with [former Florida Democratic] Congressman Alcee Hastings, and Rep. Lewis presented me with his autographed book, ‘Walking with the Wind,'” Henry recalled.

“I asked him about his preaching to his chickens, which he wrote about in his book, and he responded with laughter and said, ‘they were the only ones who would sit still and listen to me.’ I would imagine that Congressman Lewis would approach his illness as he did in a story from his childhood where he and his family were home during a violent windstorm,” Henry stated.

“The winds were pulling the house up from the ground, and they marched from one corner of the house to the other to hold the house down to keep it from being blown away. With the same courage, I’m sure Rep. Lewis will approach his situation.”

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#NNPA BlackPress

Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

5 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

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PRESS ROOM: NBA Hall of Fame Nominee Terry Cummings Joins 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to Launch Victory & Values Initiative

NNPA NEWSWIRE — NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th.

Published

5 days ago

February 27, 2026

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Cummings becomes an honorary member, joining other role model sports stars

NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings has officially become an honorary member of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County, marking a powerful new chapter for the 100 Black Men and youth development across the region.

Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th. The moment signified more than membership — it marked the launch of the organization’s transformative new platform, the Victory & Values Initiative.

The Victory & Values Initiative is a groundbreaking youth development program designed to empower elementary and middle school students through a dynamic blend of sports, mentorship, and STEM exposure. The initiative focuses on building health, discipline, character, leadership, and access to opportunity — creating pathways for long-term academic and personal success.

“This is about more than sports,” said Cummings during the ceremony. “It’s about using the platform of athletics to teach life lessons, create access, and build the next generation of leaders.”

The induction ceremony also featured notable guests including NASCAR’s newest Star Driver, Lavar Scott and NASCAR Director of Athletic Performance, Phil Horton, who joined Cummings for a powerful Victory & Values Town Hall discussion. The Town Hall was moderated by renowned Sports Emcee John Hollins and focused on leadership, resilience, discipline, and the importance of mentorship in shaping young lives.

A “Day at NASCAR” for 75+ Youth

Cummings wasted no time getting to work. On his first full day as an honorary member, he joined his new brothers of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to host a “Day at NASCAR,” escorting more than 75 youth to a once-in-a-lifetime experience at EchoPark Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).

The youth participants received behind-the-scenes access including: an exclusive tour of Pit Row, access to the Garage Area and exploration of the interactive Fan Zone.

The experience culminated with a surprise meet-and-greet and Q&A session with NASCAR Superstar Bubba Wallace, who shared insights on perseverance, preparation, and breaking barriers in professional sports.

The day served as a living example of the ‘Victory & Values’ Initiative in action — exposing youth to new industries, expanding their vision for the future, and connecting them directly with high- level mentors and role models.

Building Leaders Through Access and Mentorship

The 100 Black Men of DeKalb County – a chapter of the largest, national mentoring organization in the county – continues to expand its footprint with programs focused on academic excellence, economic empowerment, leadership development, and health & wellness.

The launch of ‘Victory & Values’ represents a strategic expansion of the organization’s impact

intentionally integrating athletics and STEM to engage youth at an early age while reinforcing core principles such as integrity, accountability, teamwork, and perseverance.

“Our mission has always been to mentor the next generation,” said Vaughn Irons, President-Elect of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County. “With Terry Cummings joining the brotherhood, along with partners in NASCAR and professional sports, we are creating unprecedented access and exposure for our youth. Victory & Values is about turning inspiration into structured opportunity.”

By connecting elementary and middle school students to professional athletes, executives, STEM professionals, and community leaders, the initiative aims to:

Increase youth exposure to careers in sports business, engineering, and performance science
Strengthen mentorship pipelines
Promote physical wellness and mental resilience
Build character-driven leadership at an early age

Open Invitation to Youth and Families

All youth are invited to participate in the Victory & Values Initiative, along with the other countless, impactful programs offered by the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County.

Parents and guardians seeking mentorship, leadership development, academic enrichment, and transformative exposure opportunities for their children are encouraged to connect with the organization.

As NBA Legend Terry Cummings’ induction demonstrates, Victory & Values is more than a program — it is a movement designed to build champions in life, not just in sports.

For more information about the Victory & Values Initiative or to enroll a student, contact: 100 Black Men of DeKalb County at Phone at 404.241.1338, info@100bmod.org or Tee Foxx at 404.791.6525,