An article by Troy University (TU) details the little known early life of civil rights activist and congress member John Lewis according to collections of records from the university's Wiregrass Archives.
The article cites a collection held by the archives that is restricted because of privacy laws but contains the Pike County school census cards from 1930 to 1980 and Alabama School Registers.
Another collection is available from the the Alabama Department of Education School System Surveys.
Lewis's early education began in the first grade at Dunn's Chapel School in 1946. The segregated building was small, holding only two rooms with grades one to three in one room and four to six in the other.
Faculty at the school often had to hold fundraisers through revenue generated at carnivals and picnics to buy supplies and furnishings.
Lewis attended Banks Junior High on state highway 93 for grades seven to eight, traveling eight miles each weekday. He eventually attended Pike County Training School before moving on to higher education.
See the full story by TU here.Â
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