John Lewis Five reasons why I am politically important: 1. I was the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC. 2. In 1963, I was named one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. 3. I stood with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, on August 28, 1963, during the march on Washington,. I was also a key note speaker. This march was for jobs and freedom. 4. I received the presidential medal of freedom from former President, Barack Obama. 5. I am the co-author of #1 The New York Time best selling graphic novel memoir trilogy March. I am leading the march to Selma on, March 7, 1965, before being stopped at the Edmund Pettus bridge. We were marching for voting rights. This day was known as Bloody Sunday. This picture show how I would not give up so easily.