Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement

I had become interested in learning more about the civil rights movement during this year's presidential election, so when I came across this book "by accident" when visiting a local book store I decided to give it a try. This book, without a doubt, is one of the best books I have ever read. "Walking with the Wind" is a compelling first-hand account of the civil rights movement from the perspective of one man who was on the front lines of the movement from day one. John Lewis was and still is a hero for all human-kind: a fierce, determined patriot who faced hatred and bigotry with a clear vision for a desegregated nation. His storytelling of that time in American history reads like a novel, filled with passion, detail, and personal insight into the core of the movement.

I cried many times reading this beautifully written memoir: cried for the suffering and hatred experienced by African Americans at the hands of supposedly Christian white people; cried for the depravity of heart and soul in those who inflicted such horrors upon others just because of the color of their skin; cried for the courage and hope of all the men and women who placed their lives at risk so that we might all be free of discrimination and segregation; cried for being inspired by those who came before me, with a newly found conviction to help make my country a more unified place for all to live.

This book should be required reading in every high school in this country. I am in my early 50s and needed a refresher course in the civil rights movement; my children barely know of it. We can never be allowed to forget this tragic, ugly period in our history, just like we can never be allowed to forget the Holocaust. John Lewis has provided us with a primer on the 1960s civil rights movement that is a compelling, passionate, probing, insightful look not only at the movement but also of the incredible human spirit.

This book is not to be missed!!

But Congressman Lewis does not reveal it in his autobiography about participation in the civil rights movement. What we get instead is a brave highly motivated young man who put his belief into a free and equal society into action.;
Lewis, who is currently one of the few southern democrats in congress has a record of defending the civil rights of all groups. Although I had always admired his voting record, reading about the seeds of activisim was very moving and touching.
Braving arrests, poliice brutality, political apathy and confusion, Lewis and his friends were early disciples of Martin Luther King. Also interesting is the uncanny habit of rubbing shoulders with John and Robert Kennedy. Although revisionist history has cast some doubt on the actual motives of the civil rights position, Lewis fondly remembers both as American heroes.
According to Lewis, both men were genuinely anti-racist, but were unpreppared to deal with dixiecrat resistance to intergration or the actual sight of segregation. Indeed,many readers such as myself still find the conditions under which Affrican Americans were expected to exist horifying.
Although many books and memoirs have been written about the civil rights movement, Lewis attaches unparralleled grace. One can almost hear the representative personally narrating the epic journey himself.

John Lewis chronicles his ascendancy from the backroads of Alabama to the hallowed halls of Congress - an experience which reads more like carefully contrived fiction than real life events. The struggles, the triumphs, the emotions, the meanings are all carefully woven to create a soon-to-be American classic literary canon, depicting the Civil Rights Era. Lewis, described as an American treasure, lives up to the title with his intimate details of the renown leaders of the movement and the not-so-well-known heroes, who fought tirelessly to end the social injustices of the segregated South. Twenty-first century textbook authors would be remiss, if not negligent, by not including the perspectives of Lewis' Walking with the Wind. Amazingly, Lewis remains humble, despite his successes. He is a role model, and more importantly, a 20th Century American hero. Walking with the Wind is a must-read for all.

I don't like memoirs. They're usually self-serving, ego-driven and full of cheap shots. Walking With the Wind is none of those. John Lewis and his co-author have crafted a marvelously told tale of the civil rights movement. Perhaps no one but Lewis, King and Abernathy could write about the movement with this scope. Lewis was there for all of it, from jails, to voting, to sit-ins. And he describes it beautifully with the perfect pace.
I think the book's best chapters are the ones that cover what happened in Selma. I've read a half-dozen histories of the civil rights movement and none of them have recounted the Selma story better than Lewis does here.
Lewis also gives us insight into several other movement leaders. Not even Taylor Branch (the Pulitzer-winning historian and journalist) tells us about Jim Bevel with this much color. Lewis tells fascinating stories about Diane Nash, Stokely Carmichael and the relations between SNCC and the other movement-leading groups. It's the kind of inside baseball a good memoir delivers.
I'm thrilled that I read this book. It has greatly contributed to my understanding of the civil rights movement.

John Lewis chronicles his ascendancy from the backroads of Alabama to the hallowed halls of Congress - an experience which reads more like carefully contrived fiction than real life events. The struggles, the triumphs, the emotions, the meanings are all carefully woven to create a soon-to-be American classic literary canon, depicting the Civil Rights Era. Lewis, described as an American treasure, lives up to the title with his intimate details of the renown leaders of the movement and the not-so-well-known heroes, who fought tirelessly to end the social injustices of the segregated South. Twenty-first century textbook authors would be remiss, if not negligent, by not including the perspectives of Lewis' Walking with the Wind. Amazingly, Lewis remains humble, despite his successes. He is a role model, and more importantly, a 20th Century American hero. Walking with the Wind is a must-read for all.

John Lewis' Walking With The Wind is a remarkable story about a man and the civil rights movement. John Lewis is a leader who is a true believer in the beliefs of Martin Luther King. He is a remarkably mature and dedicated person whose strong courage lead him to participate and very significantly contribute in many of the major events of the 1950's to 1960's civil rights movement. Therefore by reading this book, you gain as much knowledge of the civil rights movement as you gain about the life and personality of John Lewis. Walking With The Wind is an outstanding book that stands out as one of the best biographies that I have ever read. Please read this book.

John

The following is my review of the hardcover from the CNN website. "Walking With the Wind" holds up even better today. This is a must-read for those who are interested in the brave women and men who worked behind the scenes in the Civil Rights struggle.
Walking With the Wind by John Lewis
Review by Robert Nebel
(CNN) -- As a child, Georgia congressman John Lewis knew he was the "different seed" from the rest of his cotton farming family in 1940's Troy, Alabama. Like the orderly rows of cotton plants on the farm, Lewis felt his parents and siblings all too often "fell in line" and easily accepted the harsh Jim Crow segregation laws of the South. Even as a young boy, Lewis knew that he had to be the one to fall out of that orderly line and challenge the system -- a system that he felt kept those in his family and race from achieving their full potential.
Little did Lewis know that by being "the different seed" he would one day be at the forefront of changing America's attitude toward race relations. That theme plays throughout Lewis' autobiography, "Walking With The Wind".
Lewis starts out recounting a childhood filled with painful memories of separation, discrimination, degradation and isolation. Pages upon pages vividly describe separate facilities for African-Americans; violence against African-Americans; and southern legislators who were in cahoots with law enforcement officials who covered up countless wrongs against African-Americans.
Going against the advice of his parents, Lewis embarked on a journey of challenging Jim Crow laws and later, attitudes through non-violent protest. The peaceful protest ideas sprouted and came to fruition for Lewis when he was a student in Nashville during the 1950's. It was there where he applied the teachings of Ghandi and his mentor, Martin Luther King Jr., to his life of non-violence including sit-ins and marches. It was only fitting that Lewis joined the civil rights movement soon after the Brown versus the Board of Education Supreme Court decision that tore down the Jim Crow laws. Unfortunately, many Southern states refused to comply with this federal mandate. That was where Lewis' true work began -- by joining and later becoming chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.
What sets "Walking With The Wind" apart from other civil rights stories is that it is not a rehash of the lives of the famous black leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson. This book brings the unsung heroes to the forefront of the Freedom Rides, Selma's Bloody Sunday, the 1963 March on Washington, and the voter registrations drives in Mississippi. Names such as Diane Nash of the SNCC, and Fannie Lou Hamer in Mississippi, are just a few of the African-Americans who put their lives on the line to guarantee future generations of minorities basic human rights.
What happened behind the scenes at the SNCC and the movement is the heart and soul of the book. While the students struggled with police brutality from the likes of Bull Connor in Alabama, there were ideological struggles between Lewis and his opposite, Stokely Carmichael. While Lewis was steeped in non-violence, Carmichael stirred up aggressive passions among the members. It was that internal struggle that came to a head and split Lewis away from the group.
While the post-1968 years in Lewis' autobiography are at times depressing, Lewis optimistically reminds readers that it was the SNCC's work that paved the way for the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voter's Rights Act. What is even more inspiring is Lewis' rise into the political arena.
It is truly amazing to read how Lewis came up through the ranks in city politics to his present position representing the fifth district in Georgia. Lewis still marches to his own beat as a legislator and is still a "different seed" in Congress. He opposed the Gulf War, welfare reform and the death penalty -- quite a split from the present administration.
"Walking With The Wind" should be an inspiration for any of today's youth who feel if society is short-changing them. The sit-ins, demonstrations and marches that Lewis participated in showed courage and honor that is absent in present times. ...

Uplifting. Eloquent. Brilliant. Inspiring. Patriotic.
John Lewis' life story is the story of a genuine American hero. The depth and strength of his moral conviction shows what character can accomplish. This book, just as this man's life, cannot be overrated or over-appreciated.
John Lewis, as a young man had the calling. His deeply religious upbringing ultimately led him to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and work with Rev. Martin Luther King. He sat in where Black people were not wanted. He demanded for Black people the rights to which all Americans have an expectation. He walked the walk at a time when it was not only unpopular, but downright death defying.
He moved from the pulpit to the halls of Congress, where he serves to this day.
As inspiring a work as I have ever read. Ought to be required reading by everyone in the Nation for a deeper understanding of the power of the American spirit.

This is a good, powerful book about an underdog who approached the civil rights movement with the attitude that HE must DO something! This is an inspiring record of one of the most significant periods in recent American history. John tells us in painful detail of the beginnings of the movement; the sit-ins; the Freedom Rides; the March on Washington; the confrontations with the police; and the beatings - all without violence (on their part!).

I didn't really care for the last two of three chapters of the book (The New South and Old Ghosts) as it was about the newer politics in the late 70s to the early 90s. However, the last chapter (Onward) is an exceptional conclusion where Mr. Lewis talks about how we must all work together regardless of race; how we must all work together to get government to work for us. He also admonishes today's children for not standing up and reacting to the cost of college. He believes that they must DO something - that the government won't change just for them. He also concludes in saying that he feels today's politics has become mean-spirited from people like the current media; politicians like Newt Gingrich; and lots of current Black leaders. He believes that lots of current problems remind him of the civil rights movement. Mr. Lewis is an exceptional person. It's too bad that he doesn't have aspirations to be President. He would rather be in the ditches shoveling dirt with the rest of us. Too bad, because he would make a wonderful president of all the people.

The book is worth reading and learning from and taking inspiration from Mr. Lewis.

John Lewis' memoir tells of his pivotal role in the civil rights movement as , literally, its most prominent "fall guy." John Lewis was physically at the forefront of the major civil rights events-getting beaten, arrested, and ultimately, prevailing in the struggle to desegregate the south. He was one of the original Freedom Riders as well as the first person across the Pettis Bridge in Selma. He explains all of his actions and ethics through a mirror of highly disciplined non-violence that leaves the reader in awe of his amazing achievements. In sum, this book is a "must-read" for anyone interested in the civil rights movement.

John Lewis' recollections of the Civil Rights Movement provide a riveting insight into this important time in American history. As the leader of the student movement, he gives the reader a different perspective of the movement by an activist of a generation younger than Dr. Martin Luther King. Those students activists worked alongside Dr. King but also separate from his group at times. This account of Congressman Lewis' life reads like a novel and captures the reader from the beginning. From the student lunch counter sit-ins to the Freedom Rides to the march on Selma to the deaths of the three students on their way to Mississippi to assist with voting rights to the march on Washington, Lewis recounts firsthand his recollections of these pivotal events. "Walking with the Wind " is a critically important account of of our history.

Americans struggling for simple dignity; for the rights all Americans were promised by the founding fathers, told complete with warts, with the power of a mover and eyewitness to it all. John Lewis treats us to an inside view of SNCC, its often turbulent association with SCLC, and it's ultimate demise from militant upsurters. He beautifully recounts students confronting both civil and bone-chilling authority with both success and failure.
Riviting, and at once humbling as well as redeeming to know such heroic Americans exist that are willing to risk body and soul to defeat glaring wrong. Defeat wrong not by force, but by will power and moral courage. Americans at their best!
A must read for every American, and an excellant companion to "Parting of the Waters.
Thank you John Lewis!

I had the honor of meeting Representative Lewis at my place of employment's annual event a few years ago. He gave a rousing speech and made sure to stay at the venue until all staff and event attendees had a chance to speak with him personally. The book is an important engrossing look at a pivotal point in the United States' history.

John Lewis captured the Spirit of America and the true motivation behind the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in "Walking With The Wind." This book allows the reader to not only experience the movement, but to gain a better understanding of the issues and events that have shaped American history in the last half of the twentienth century. Brilliantly crafted, this book epitomizes the "American Dream." Highly recommended to anyone interested in American history or modern day hereos.

John Lewis's powerful and moving retelling of his journey through the
Civil Rights years, much of it in leadership positions, is a walk through
important American history. His clarity of purpose, values, honed by the
beatings and jailings of those years shine through it all. This personal
insight into events we read about in history makes it real, and makes us
admire the courage and persistence of people like John Lewis. In our present
times of struggle over issues of war, environment and economic fairness,
we need both a reminder of this historical struggle and a next generation
to press us to make changes, to make a difference. A must read for anyone
concerned about our present times.

WALKING WITH THE WIND shows the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of John Lewis, who may have been considered a minor playor at the time. The turbulent years are discussed in detail. Though the actions contained therein are sometimes sad and inhumane, the reader is left with a feeling of achievement, of something good having been accomplished. It's a positive suprise, this memoir, from an unexpected source. You know that he was there and that he felt every nuance. You can feel his triumph. Excellent photography.

This book chronicles the key events of the civil rights movement in the United States during the late 50's and 60's. You will not only learn about the man John Lewis but also how the moral roots of that movement were planted in the calm and deliberative commitment to non-violence. This is a story that all high school and college students should learn by heart, and adults should never forget; for it provides the basis for having hope in America through expanding the boundaries of the moral community but also through finding meaningful, noble causes to which to dedicate one's life. John Lewis is a true American hero and I couldn't recommend this book more highly.

John Lewis' book,Walking With The Wind,succinctly, inspiringly ,and powerfully tells the story of how we moved as a nation from two separate and unequal societies toward 'a more perfect union', John Lewis was the leader and visionary of that journey.,He prepares us for the battlefields and physically dangerous campaigns of the civil rights movement by vividly recounting growing up in a tiny rural Alabama community and experiencing the mores of life in the 1940's and 1950's. His upbringing shows us that the so called 'least of these', with intellect, faith,and determination can make this nation move mightly in the direction of achieving the 'beloved community'. He moves on to current times and has an insider's view of events and participants. I recommend this book to all who want to know American history from one who lived it.

I have read numerous books about the civil rights movement of the 1960s, including the trilogy by Taylor Branch, and John Lewis' book is without doubt the very best. If you want to read only one book about this struggle, this is the book you should choose. I lived in the Mississippi Delta during this time, and have visited there often since then, and the story Lewis tells exudes integrity.

Words cannot express what this book has meant to me. It is both immensely deep and inspiring while feeling very intimate as if Mr. Lewis were right there telling you his story. Particularly interesting portrayal of the turbulent years after King's death. In spite of all the amazing accomplishments he has made, the book is very humble, and Mr. Lewis does not hesitate to discuss his own faults. Another aspect I particularly admire about this book is the relevance to the present day as Mr. Lewis explains how we can continue to work toward the dream of a beloved community.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis' broad range of experiences gives the reader a glimpse into nearly every facet of the 1960's part of the movement. However, it is also useful for the specific study of the Nashville student movement and the study of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).

A wonderful book by a great American. During the Civil Rights Movement, John Lewis and many other brave men and women held sit-ins, Freedom Rides, Marched on Washington and walked the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Their courage and patriotic drive was powerful and beyond reproach.

No doubt, after reading this book it became very clear to me that the Civil Rights Movement included many young people. Their fearlessness and hope is something our country has not seen in many years. A must read!!!

John Lewis is to be commended for such an explicit account of the civil rights movement. This book is worthy to be placed on every public, and academic library shelf. Reading this made me revisit and evaluate where we been and where we ar e.

John Lewis paints a vivid portrait of the civil rights movement in a way no other author or presentator has. After reading this book, you realize the amount of time and resources and the incredible sacrifices that made the civil rights movement happen. You realize that our society changed not because of one or two leaders but because of the courage of the everyday man, woman and child that put their life on the line to make a difference.

Words cannot express what this book has meant to me. It is both immensely deep and inspiring while feeling very intimate as if Mr. Lewis were right there telling you his story. Particularly interesting portrayal of the turbulent years after King's death. In spite of all the amazing accomplishments he has made, the book is very humble, and Mr. Lewis does not hesitate to discuss his own faults. Another aspect I particularly admire about this book is the relevance to the present day as Mr. Lewis explains how we can continue to work toward the dream of a beloved community.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis' broad range of experiences gives the reader a glimpse into nearly every facet of the 1960's part of the movement. However, it is also useful for the specific study of the Nashville student movement and the study of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).

A wonderful book by a great American. During the Civil Rights Movement, John Lewis and many other brave men and women held sit-ins, Freedom Rides, Marched on Washington and walked the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Their courage and patriotic drive was powerful and beyond reproach.

No doubt, after reading this book it became very clear to me that the Civil Rights Movement included many young people. Their fearlessness and hope is something our country has not seen in many years. A must read!!!

A book guaranteed to keep your attention! The information covered and unselfishly shared focused on a part of history that needed to be told. As I relived this period with Congressman Lewis, I felt his pain, his need to fight, his determination, but most of all I felt his suffering. As history was being told, one could definitely see a need to endure the pain and suffering as this courageous sharecropper's son did. Every blood shed, tears cried, lives lost and the bold and remarkable efforts of an individual, made a difference in society and that in return resulted in producing a strong, intelligent and memorable American Man. Read the book! You will obtain true history told first hand.

John Lewis is to be commended for such an explicit account of the civil rights movement. This book is worthy to be placed on every public, and academic library shelf. Reading this made me revisit and evaluate where we been and where we ar e.

John Lewis paints a vivid portrait of the civil rights movement in a way no other author or presentator has. After reading this book, you realize the amount of time and resources and the incredible sacrifices that made the civil rights movement happen. You realize that our society changed not because of one or two leaders but because of the courage of the everyday man, woman and child that put their life on the line to make a difference.

While this highly enjoyable and readable book provided a good insider look at the Civil Rights Movement, John Lewis credits himself and the early activists with a bit too much credit. Like any "true believer", he sees the cause only from his perspective, where he is the martyr and the sole focus of the movement. His myopia prevents him from seeing that two major players acted to grant full civil rights to blacks in the 60's. The readiness of a moral American public, and the television broadcasts that made the violence in the South visible. Without a moral citizenry or without the visuals created by television, the progress in civil rights would have been far slower and John Lewis would not have been at the epicenter.

Lewis fails to acknowledge the importance of Americans of good will in overturning the immoral and illegal acts of those that prevented progress in Black civil rights. More tellingly, in his final chapter, he disparages Clarence Thomas for not retaining a 1960's view of America like Lewis does. He bristles at being called not Black enough, yet he is only too willing to pass the appellation on to Justice Thomas. This is a central failing of the Black Civil Rights Movement--condemn anyone not as radical as yourself as an Uncle Tom, or a "compromiser" as in the case of W.E.B. Dubois' condemnation of Booker T. Washington.
Lewis is the quintessential revolutionary who is not able to govern. He is capable of providing non-violent resistance against the racists of 1965, but is incapable of accepting his own success and moving on to a future where rights and opportunities are both codified and respected in the law.

It is an axiom of most every movement today that one should never let a crisis go to waste -even if one has to create (or perpetuate)the crisis. For Lewis to acknowledge that Blacks have made great progress in civil rights and perhaps it is time to move on to a new topic would require that he relinquish his historical role as the martyr of the movement and would put his relevance in serious doubt. Lewis is locked in the past, in an America where Sherriff Clarke & Bull Connor still need to be confronted and Blacks are still victims of harassment, intimidation and coercion at the registration office and the ballot box.

For all his good contributions to the civil rights movement, Lewis does Blacks a disservice by clinging to an anachronistic view of race in America that will only serve to create, not alleviate, tensions between the races.