Notable figures in black history Image 1 of 12 John Lewis at a
meeting of American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1964 and his
official U.S. Congress portrait. Lewis is now a congressman for
Georgia's fifth district but began his career as a civil rights
activist. He participated in sit-ins and marches to help end
segregation. Lewis was also one of the youngest people to give a
speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the same
march where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream"
speech.