Book 1 opens with a young John Lewis standing on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. It's "Bloody Sunday" when civil rights activists march on the bridge to protest segregation and Jim Crow. The state troopers use tear gas and brute force to beat back the protestors when they refuse to stop. This was in 1965.
As he prepares to attend President Obama's inauguration, congressman John Lewis meets a family there to tour his office. Now it's 2009 and Lewis is well-established in the political arena. When one of the little boys comments on Lewis' various art pieces featuring chickens, he inadvertently triggers some memories for the congressman. Lewis tells his life's story for these people.
When he was young, Lewis got the chance to visit Buffalo, New York with his Uncle Otis. Seeing entire communities living in an unsegregated city was eye-opening for the kid. He returns home and throws himself into his studies in school, even skipping out on work at home in order to go to school -- a point of contention between he and his father which he wins. He listens to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the radio, becoming equally preoccupied with the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis even delivers his own sermon inspired by Dr. King, which was published in a local newspaper.
In college, Lewis attends the American Baptist Theological Seminary but decides to transfer to Troy University, an all white university. He actually has the opportunity to speak with Dr. King in the hopes of challenging the school's policy, but Lewis and his family decide not to pursue such a massive and potentially harmful lawsuit. Lewis moves, instead, to Nashville where he becomes involved with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, participating in sit-ins and spending some time in jail for his activities.
By Book 2, tensions in the South have risen to climax. It's 1961, and the Freedom Riders begin traveling South on public buses. They're trying to reach the hold-outs of staunch racism and segregation in the Deep South. After the Birmingham Church Bombing of 1963, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is finally passed. Lewis continues to remain active in the Civil Rights Movement but takes a less central stance.
In Book 3, Lewis becomes the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. There is an ever-increasing backlash against civil rights activism, leading to new Jim Crow laws and more violence. Under Lewis' leadership, the SNCC raises awareness and travels the nation offering support to victims and oppressed communities. After the 1963 Freedom Ballot, the tides really do turn in the South, thanks to strong leadership and community involvement. Finally, protestors gather for the march in Selma, only to be attacked by defending state troopers.
