October 2, 2006

Rep. Lewis receives Hall-Waters Prize from Troy University

TROY – An icon of the U.S. civil rights movement urged Troy University students Monday to continue to fight for freedom and peace around the world.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia) visited the University Monday to receive the Hall-Waters Prize. The Hall-Waters Prize is endowed by TROY alumnus Dr. Wade Hall, an author, former member of the faculty at the University of Florida and professor emeritus of English at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY.

Dr. Hall, a native of Bullock County, endowed the prize as a memorial to his parents, Wade Hall Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth Waters Hall. The award is presented annually to a person who has made significant contributions to Southern heritage and culture in history, literature or the arts.

Lewis, who grew up less than 15 miles from Troy in rural Pike County, talked about his rise from the hardscrabble life as a sharecropper’s son to a lofty position as leader of the civil rights movements and confidant of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Due to institutionalized racial segregation in the late 1950s, Lewis did not attend Troy State College, instead leaving his family’s Pike County farm for Nashville and American Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University. Lewis played a role in the watershed events of the 1960s civil rights movement, such as “Bloody Sunday” and the Selma-to-Montgomery March, the “Freedom Rides” and the march on Washington, where he shared the podium with Dr. King and the famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

“Of the 10 people who spoke that day, I am the last one around,” he said.

Despite suffering for his beliefs in equality for all races—Lewis was arrested more than 40 times and was beaten on several occasions—the Georgia congressman urged Troy University students to tackle their problems with hope and optimism. He also encouraged them to carry on the mission of the civil rights movement by advocating freedom and equality for all peoples of the world.

“Never, ever give up. Never, ever give in. Never get lost in a sea of despair,” Lewis said. “Colleagues have asked me why I am not bitter. I have told them over and over again that hate is too heavy a burden to bear.”

More than 250 students heard Lewis’s remarks in the Trojan Center ballrooms, honoring him with two standing ovations. Many of these students have been studying Lewis’ memoir of the civil rights movement “Walking with the Wind” in their English classes in preparation for his visit.

Dr. Wade Hall introduced Lewis as a “fighter on the front lines of a good war, with danger and destruction always lurking.” He praised Lewis for his service in Congress and his continued leadership in the fight for human rights.

Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. welcomed Lewis home to Troy and pointed out that many changes have taken place at Troy University since Lewis tried to enroll in the late 1950s. For example, African-American students make up 22 percent of the enrollment on the Troy Campus and last year Troy University worldwide awarded diplomas to more than 2,000 African-American students.

Dr. Hawkins also pointed out that the Hall-Waters Prize is not the first honor Rep. Lewis has received from TROY, as the University awarded him the honorary doctor of laws degree in 1989.

--end--

 

Rep. (Ga.-D) speaks to more than 250 students at Troy (Ala.) University Monday during the presentation of the Hall-Waters Prize, given by the University for significant contributions to Southern heritage and culture in history, literature or the arts. TROY photo/Kevin Glackmeyer

Rep. John Lewis with Hall: Rep. John Lewis (Ga.-D) receives the Hall-Waters Prize from Troy University alumnus Wade Hall, who endowed the prize in the memory of his parents for significant contributions to Southern heritage and culture in history, literature or the arts. A Civil Rights leader and confidant of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Rep. Lewis has risen from humble birth to sharecropper parents to being a leader in national civil rights and the United States Congress. TROY photo/Kevin Glackmeyer