J
L
W A Y
THE REP. JOHN LEWIS WAY MARCH
JULY 15, 2023
March starts @8AM
*Starts at the corner of John Lewis Way and Jefferson Street and ends with performance outside the Ryman auditorium
THEME: Freedom is not a State, It is an Act
"Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society." – John Lewis
WEEKEND EVENTS
DR. ERNEST ‘RIP’ PATTON HISTORICAL MARKER UNVEILING
& REP. JOHN LEWIS WAY PANEL DISCUSSION PROGRAM
FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2023, 5 P.M. – 8 P.M.
5:00 p.m.
Reception: Hosted by Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church
6:00 p.m.
Dr. Ernest ‘Rip’ Patton Historical Marker Unveiling
Mrs. Linda T. Wynn
Tennessee Historical Commission
Remarks:
Mr. Michael Patton
Son of the Late Dr. Ernest ‘Rip’ Patton Jr.
Welcome:
Dr. Paula Smith
Pastor, Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church
Councilwoman Zulfat Suara
Chair, John Lewis Way Committee
Senator Brenda Gilmore
Chair, John Lewis Way March
Remarks:
Mayor John Cooper
7:00 p.m.
John Lewis Way Panel Discussion
Introduction of Moderator
Councilwoman Zulfat Suara
Chair, John Lewis Way Committee
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Safiyah Suara
Panelists:
Mayor Steven Reed
Dr. Bernard LaFayette
Ms. Kayla Prowell
Presentation to Panelists
Scholarship Awards
American Baptist College
Fisk University
Presenting:
Councilwoman Zulfat Suara
Deputy Mayor Brenda Haywood
Accepting for their respective schools:
Dr. Phyllis Qualls
Senior Chief of Advancement
American Baptist College
Dr. Robert Carr
Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost
Fisk University
Call to Action:
Deputy Mayor Brenda Haywood
3RD ANNUAL JOHN LEWIS WAY MARCH PROGRAM
FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2023, 8:00 AM
Pre-March Breakfast
U Kno Catering
Community Coffee
Sam’s Club
Music:
Temple Baptist Church Choir
Welcome
Councilmember Zulfat Suara
Senator Brenda Gilmore
Remarks:
Mr. Henry Lewis
Brother of Representative John Lewis
Representative Gloria Johnson
Keynote:
The Honorable Steven L. Reed
Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama
Recognition of Corporate Sponsors
Mrs. Rita McDonald
Recognition of March Sponsoring Candidates
Dr. Debra Berry
Call to Action:
Representative Justin Jones
Dr. Kelly Miller Smith
Music:
Temple Baptist Church Choir
8:30 AM
March Commences:
At the intersection of John Lewis Way and Jefferson Street
Music:
Stratford STEM Magnet School Band and Cheerleaders
March Concludes:
At Ryman Auditorium
ABOUT REP. JOHN LEWIS WAY
“Nashville prepared me. If it hadn’t been for Nashville, I would not be the person I am now.” – Rep. John Lewis
Shortly after U.S. Rep John Lewis passed away on July 17, 2020, the Minority Caucus of the Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County Council and a group of community leaders started talking about the idea of renaming Nashville’s Fifth Avenue in memory of the late civil rights leader
Over several weeks, the group settled on proceeding with permanently changing Fifth Avenue to Rep. John Lewis Way to recognize Lewis, who began his lifelong crusade for civil rights and civic justice while a student at the American Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University.
The committee held virtual public meetings to gain input and support from the general community, and More than 2,000 individuals, to date, signed the Change.org petition to rename Fifth Avenue in honor of Rep. Lewis.
On Nov. 5, 2020, the Metro Council approved the ordinance to create Rep. John Lewis Way, beginning at the corner of Jefferson Street and Fifth through downtown to the corner of Oak Street at the historic City Cemetery.
A few weeks later, on Jan. 14, 2021, Metro Nashville’s Public Works department made the change official by removing the Fifth Avenue street signs at intersections along the route and replacing them with signs proclaiming Rep. John Lewis Way.
A formal dedication and celebration honoring Rep. Lewis, including a march on part of the route, a formal street dedication and celebration at the Ryman Auditorium, is scheduled for July 17, 2021, on the weekend of the first anniversary of Lewis’s death.
The Rep. John Lewis Way Committee
Honorable Zulfat Suara, Committee Chair, Metro Council at Large
Honorable Brenda Gilmore- Tennessee State Senate, District 19
Honorable Brenda Haywood – Deputy Mayor of Community Engagement
Honorable Vivian Wilhoite- Davidson County Assessor of Property
Mr. Greg Bailey- Founding Principal - Finley + Bailey Strategic Communications
Ms. Susan Huggins, Retired CEO, CABLE
Mr. Sam Reed- Partner at Jigsaw. Co-owner at Sinema and Eighth & Roast.
Mr. Tim Walker -Executive Director - Metro Historical Commission/Metro Historical Zoning Commission
Ms. Rita McDonald- VP of Member & Investor Relations -Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Mr. Tom Turner – President & CEO – Nashville Downtown Partnership
Ms. Marie Sueing- Sr. VP of Diversity & Inclusion- Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp
Dr. Phyllis Qualls Brooks -VP for Institutional Advancement- American Baptist College
Mr. Eric Brown- Sr. Policy Analyst -Mayor’s Office/Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc
Ms. Crissy Cassetty – Director- Economic Development, Nashville Downtown Partnership
Dr. Emmanuel Rowe– Executive Assistant, Eta Beta Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc
Ms. Samar Ali – President -Millions of Conversations/Co- Chair -Vanderbilt Unity Project
ABOUT REP. JOHN LEWIS
Video courtesy of PBS/DNC
John Robert Lewis was born on Feb. 21, 1940 in Troy, Ala., and spent much of his boyhood caring for the chickens on the 110-acre farm owned by his parents, Eddie and Willie Mae Lewis. He was the third of 10 children and lived in a house with no electricity or plumbing.
As a young man, after high school, he made his way to Nashville where he attended the American Baptist Theological Seminary, working as a dishwasher and janitor to pay his way through school. It was here that he met the Rev. James Lawson, who was already talking with young people about nonviolent change and civil disobedience.
Lewis was a leader of the historic lunch counter sit-ins in downtown Nashville in 1960, many of which occurred in and around the street now known as Rep. John Lewis Way. He and his fellow students later marched to the City Courthouse when then-Mayor Ben West agreed it was time to desegregate public places in Nashville. Lewis was one of the 13 original “Freedom Riders,” who took tours of the South to test two Supreme Court rulings that outlawed segregated bathrooms and waiting rooms and segregation on buses and trains.
At age 23, representing the new Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), he was the youngest person to speak from the podium at the legendary “March on Washington,” the site of the Rev. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Lewis brought his own passion to the microphone that day, declaring “By the force of our demands, our determination and numbers, we shall splinter the segregated South into a thousand pieces and put them together in the image of God and democracy. We must say: Wake up, America. Wake up! For we cannot stop and we will not and cannot be patient.”
Lewis would return to Nashville to begin working on a second degree at Fisk University and in 1965, he would help lead the legendary “Selma March,” across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the way to Montgomery, the capital city, to advocate for voting rights. There, Alabama state troopers attacked the protestors with clubs and tear gas as mounted officers pushed back the crowd, a day now known as “Bloody Sunday.”
In 1966, replaced as the chair of SNCC, he focused on completing his degree at Fisk and starting efforts to register African Americans to vote through the Voter Education Project. He later moved to Atlanta with his new wife, Lillian. When Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1976, he named Lewis to lead ACTION, the federal volunteer agency. He ran for Congress unsuccessfully in 1977, and in 1981, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council. Lewis was elected to Congress in 1986 and served more than 30 years as the Fifth District representative.
Rep. Lewis passed away on July 17, 2020.
J
L
W A Y
CONTACT US
For news/media:
Send us a message and we will respond as soon as possible.