U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis (D-Ga.) will address the class of 2014 as this year’s Commencement speaker during the May 12 ceremony, the University has announced.
Serving as the representative for Emory’s congressional district since 1986, Lewis has played a large role in U.S. government and politics, especially during the Civil Rights era.
Lewis volunteered to participate in the Freedom Rides aimed at desegregating public transportation throughout the South, was the keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in 1963 and led more than 600 protestors during a peaceful march into Selma, Ala.
These events helped form what would later be defined as “one of the most seminal collection of events of the Civil Rights Movement,” according to Lewis’ biography on his website.
Among other accomplishments, Lewis was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor granted by the President of the United States in 2010.
He is the recipient of more than 50 honorary degrees, several national civil rights and peace awards and is the only recipient of the John F. Kennedy “Profiles in Courage” lifetime achievement award.
As part of the University’s tradition of honoring its Commencement speaker, Lewis will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the Commencement ceremony.
Lewis’ invitation as the 2014 Commencement speaker is not the first interaction the Congressman has had with the Emory community, according to Vice President and Deputy to the President Gary Hauk.
“As the representative for Emory’s congressional district, he has been a strong supporter of higher education and a frequent visitor to our campus,” Hauk wrote in an email to the Wheel.
“Few persons embody the moral stature of courageous leaders who work in behalf of a common good as well as John Lewis.”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Civil Rights Act, a milestone in the struggle for full civil rights for all Americans, Hauk wrote.
“This was a struggle that he led as a young man not much older than our graduating college seniors,” Hauk wrote.
In 1999, Lewis was awarded the Emory President’s Medal, one of the two highest honors granted by Emory.
The selection and conferral of the award goes to “only those individuals whose impact on the world has enhanced the dominion of peace or has enlarged the range of cultural achievement,” according to Hauk.
The selection process begins in the spring of the previous year, when a committee of 15 to 20 juniors advises the University President on the kind of Commencement speaker who would be meaningful to the senior class when they graduate the following year, Hauk wrote.
Last year’s committee selected a list of nine names, including distinguished men and women in fields ranging from public service and cinema to from academia and journalism, Hauk wrote.
Hauk wrote that after reaching out to all but one of the nine members on the list, scheduling conflicts or the inability to confirm until late in the spring made it impossible for all of the members to attend commencement except for Lewis.
This year, more than 15,000 attendees are expected at the ceremony, which will take place on the Quadrangle on May 12.
In addition to Lewis, President of Spelman College Beverly Daniel Tatum will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and Emory alumnus and former Board of Trustees chair Ben F. Johnson III (’65C) will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
– By Stephen Fowler
Stephen Fowler 16C is the political reporter at Georgia Public Broadcasting, the statewide NPR affiliate in Georgia. He graduated from Emory with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and covered the central administration and Greek Life for the Wheel before serving as assistant news editor, Emory Life editor and the Executive Digital Editor from 2015-16.
I wonder if this has anything to do with Emory making a mea culpa for President Wagner’s 3/5 compromise remarks.