[nfbwatlk] Fw: Congressman John Lewis to Participate in National Federation of the Blind March for Independence

[Mike Freeman]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pare, John" <JPare at NFB.ORG>
To: "Pare, John" <JPare at NFB.ORG>
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 10:07 AM
Subject: Congressman John Lewis to Participate in National Federation of 
the Blind March for Independence


Please see the press release below.  For those of you who are not 
familiar with John Lewis, I have included some bibliographic information 
following the press release.


Congressman John Lewis to Participate in


National Federation of the Blind March for Independence



Atlanta, Georgia (March 1, 2007):  The National Federation of the Blind 
(NFB) announced today that Rep. John Lewis (GA-5) will march in the 2007 
National Federation of the Blind March for Independence.  The march will 
take place in Atlanta on July 3, 2007, as part of the annual convention 
of the National Federation of the Blind.



"Marching is a tremendous tool of individual empowerment and social 
change," said Rep. Lewis.  "We used it in the Civil Rights Movement to 
dramatize our struggle against social injustice, and this March for 
Independence is simply a modern-day extension of that call for change. 
The guiding purpose of the Movement was to help create an all-inclusive 
society that values the dignity and the worth of every individual.  That 
is why, on Tuesday, July 3rd, in Atlanta, Georgia, I will join over 
1,000 blind people, their family members, and friends in the National 
Federation of the Blind March for Independence, to demonstrate the need 
for civil rights for the blind."



"Congressman Lewis's participation in the march calls attention to the 
historic civil rights component of the event and our organization," said 
Mr. Anil Lewis, president of the National Federation of the Blind of 
Georgia.  "We will be marching together in an effort to remove the fears 
and stereotypes associated with blindness.  This group of capable blind 
people marching through the streets of Atlanta will demonstrate the 
determination of the blind to achieve full equality in society."



Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: 
"It is fitting that a city so inextricably linked with the cause of 
civil rights for all Americans should be the place where our first March 
for Independence takes place.  The blind look forward with great 
anticipation to marching through the streets of Atlanta with Congressman 
Lewis and other friends who support our cause.  On July 3, 2007, the 
blind will step forward proudly to meet our future of independence and 
full equality in society with joy and gladness in our hearts."



# # #



About the National Federation of the Blind



With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is 
the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people 
in the United States.   The NFB improves blind people's lives through 
advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging 
independence and self-confidence.  It is the leading force in the 
blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind.  In January 
2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
Institute, the first research and training center in the United States 
for the blind led by the blind.



# # #

Excerpts from an article about Congressman John Lewis

By Larry Jones

Along with fellow activist Hosea Williams, Lewis led one of the most 
dramatic nonviolent protest in the civil rights movement. In their quest 
for voting rights in the south, Lewis and Williams led 525 marchers over 
the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. The 
marchers were attacked by the Alabama State Troopers and beaten so badly 
that the event became known as "Bloody Sunday." Inspired by the event, 
two days later more than 1000 religious leaders came to Selma and 
marched peacefully over the same bridge. Later, Lewis along with more 
than 10,000 marchers returned and marched over the bridge.

A week after "Bloody Sunday," Lewis said President Lyndon Johnson spoke 
to a joint session of Congress and the nation. Recalling a portion of 
the President's speech, Lewis said he spoke from his heart in telling 
the American people "I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the 
destiny of democracy. At times history and fate meet in a single place 
in man's unending search for freedom. So it was more than a century ago 
at Lexington and Concord. So it was at Appomattox and so it was last 
week in Selma, Alabama. Setting with Dr. Martin Luther King while 
viewing the speech on television, Lewis remembered that Dr. King cried 
as he listened to the speech and as the President invoked over and over 
"We Shall Overcome."

After the speech, King turned to Lewis and said we will make it from 
Selma to Montgomery, a march held to focus national attention on the 
need for voting rights in the south. Dr. King was right. More than 
25,000 black and white marchers from all over the country participated 
in one of the most successful demonstrations in American history. As a 
result, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965 striking 
down literacy tests and other discriminatory practices that prevented 
blacks and other minorities from voting in the South.

# # #

John G. Paré Jr.
Director of Public Relations
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland  21230
Telephone:  (410) 659-9314, ext. 2371
Cell phone:  (410) 913-3912
Fax:  (410) 685-5653
Email:  jpare at nfb.org