This was posted on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 by Rodney Ho on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
In a case of great timing, PBS and Georgia Public Broadcasting are airing a documentary on Georgia Representative and civil rights legend John Lewis on Feb. 10 at 10:30 p.m.
The hour-long documentary dubbed "John Lewis - Get in the Way" will cover his entire life. It will include his hardscrabble childhood in Alabama and his embrace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent resistance to segregation as a teenager. Later, he became a student activist, taking part in the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins, the 1961 Freedom Rides, the 1963 March on Washington and the Bloody Sunday march in 1965 where he was beaten in the skull by a state trooper in Selma.
Interviews from Lewis over a span of 20 years are included. Others interviewed in the documentary: Andrew Young, C.T. Vivian, Juanita Abernathy and Bernard Lafayette. Many of his Congressional colleagues appear as well, including Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
"Atlanta and the state of Georgia have played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement," said Georgia Public Broadcasting President and CEO Teya Ryan in a press release. "Through the years we've shared the stories of many of the movement's greatest heroes with Georgia ties, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Andrew Young. We are thrilled to bring a film that so eloquently captures the legacy of John Lewis to a national audience through PBS."
Obviously, Lewis has been in the news the past week after saying he wasn't going to attend President Elect Donald Trump's inauguration, questioning its legitimacy, citing likely Russian interference. Trump fought back with Tweets that said Lewis was "all talk" and calling his 5th district "horrible" and "crime infested." Many of Lewis' Democratic colleagues have joined him in boycotting Trump's swearing in as well.
TV PREVIEW
"John Lewis: Get in the Way," 10:30 p.m., Friday, February 10, GPB
About the Author
