The violent and horrific events that occurred during the March 7, 1965 attempt by civil rights protesters to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama led to profound and lasting changes for America, the Civil Rights Movement, and for John Robert Lewis (1940-1920), the late civil rights leader who served as the United States Representative for Georgia's 5th Congressional District for 33 years (1987-2020).

March 7, 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of the historic march, and Professor of Journalism and Media Studies and of History David Greenberg, the author of the recently published biography “John Lewis: A Life” will honor John Lewis and his fellow protesters by attending the FPI Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama hosted by the Faith and Politics Institute based in Washington, DC.

In our Q&A, Greenberg explains how the events of March 7, 1965 affected John Lewis’s life and career, and what it means to Greenberg, as the author of the definitive biography of Lewis, to attend the 2025 pilgrimage to Selma.

Please describe what happened to John Lewis during the march from Selma to Montgomery on March 7, 1965.
DG: John Lewis was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during a period when the people of Selma, Alabama were organizing against the state’s effective denial of Black citizens’ right to vote. In early 1965, SNCC and other civil rights activists were bringing pressure to bear on local and state officials. On Sunday, March 7, Lewis headed a procession of protesters through town and over the Edmund Pettus Bridge that led to the highway, intending to march to the state capital in Montgomery. There they were set upon and beaten by state troopers. Many were injured and hospitalized. Lewis was nearly killed.

What was the impact of both the original, attempted march on March 7, and the successful march on March 21, on John Lewis and his role in March 1965 as Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)? How did his experiences at these two events contribute to shaping his future?
DG: In the short term, the events—dubbed “Bloody Sunday”—mobilized public opinion in favor of federal action. President Lyndon Johnson went on TV to promise the passage of a Voting Rights Act. Lewis’s heroism on March 7 is in some ways responsible for that historic legislation, which Johnson signed in August. For Lewis, however, it was also another step in his break with others in SNCC. SNCC was feuding with Martin Luther King Jr. and had not wanted to join the March 7 protest. A year later, many in SNCC still held it against Lewis that he marched that day, and he was voted out of the chairmanship. But he remained a lifelong fighter for voting rights.

"Voting rights remains a paramount issue. We are still fighting as Americans to expand access to polling places and lower barriers to voting. The anniversary serves as a reminder both of how much has been accomplished as well as of the work that remains."

Have you seen the pen that John Lewis owned that President Lyndon B. Johnson used six months after the march to Selma to sign the Voting Rights Act into law? How did Lewis acquire this?
DG: I’ve seen pictures of the pen; I’m not sure if I’ve seen the pen. But LBJ loved to sign bills with many pens and give them away to people who had a role in each bill’s passage. He recognized Lewis’s importance to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and gave him a pen.

How did the media coverage of "Bloody Sunday" on March 7 1965 have an impact on the trajectory of the Civil Rights Movement? Are there any lessons here for today's aspiring or current journalists?
DG: The beatings of Bloody Sunday were captured on film andby photographers. The footage appeared on television news that night, and the pictures were on the front pages of newspapers the next day. The news and the images resonated with people across America and the world and helped build support for a voting rights bill. They illustrate the important role that journalists can play in reporting on and bearing witness to historic events.

What is the significance of this year’s 60th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday?”
DG: Voting rights remains a paramount issue. We are still fighting as Americans to expand access to polling places and lower barriers to voting. The anniversary serves as a reminder both of how much has been accomplished as well as of the work that remains.

Is this your first pilgrimage to Selma with the Faith and Politics Institute?
DG: This is my first pilgrimage. While writing JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE, I visited Selma and I took my family along to see this important site of American history. I regret never having gone with John Lewis.

"In my research, I discovered that commemorations of Selma did not always center on John Lewis. Even the Hollywood movie about Selma is focused more on Martin Luther King, Jr. But Lewis’s heroism was central to the Selma campaign in 1965."

As the author of the biography “John Lewis: A Life,” why will this pilgrimage be meaningful to you?
DG: In my research, I discovered that commemorations of Selma did not always center on John Lewis. Even the Hollywood movie about Selma is focused more on Martin Luther King, Jr. But Lewis’s heroism was central to the Selma campaign in 1965, and he also was the one who did the most to keep Selma alive in popular memory in the last few decades, through these pilgrimages. So he really is the person with whom the campaign is most associated. He spoke powerfully about why he would go back every year. I write about that in the book.

While participating in the pilgrimage, is there anyone you hope to meet, or anything you hope to see, do, or explore?DG: I am eager to see the variety of people who attend and the range of activities that are planned. Everyone who goes says it is an emotional and even life-changing experience.

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