WASHINGTON -- Sitting on the carpet of the House chamber may have been a new experience for U.S. Rep. John Lewis, but last week's protest for gun control legislation that upended Capitol Hill for 26 hours and led to a new form of civil disobedience through social media represented a return to the Atlanta Democrat's roots.
The revolt on the House floor began in much the same way as many of the 76-year-old's protests did during the civil right era: quietly, resolutely and in the face of long odds.
The similarities were not unnoticed by Lewis.
“Sitting there on the floor, I felt like I was reliving my life all over again,” he said. “During the ’60s the sit-ins started with three or four people, and they spread like wildfire. This will spread.”
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