John Lewis and the Civil Rights Movement in Carroll County
By Lynn Wheeler
Attached please enjoy a pdf of a wonderful article on
Carroll County Community Leader John Lewis by Lynn Wheeler, the board chair of
the Historical Society of Carroll County.
CARROLL COUNTY: Carroll Yesteryears: John Lewis and the
Civil Rights Movement in Carroll County By Lynn Wheeler Carroll County Times
Published: Sep 24, 2023 at 11:00 am https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll/cc-lt-yesteryears-092423-20230924-cj6f7sngsrdixpgiozvhjq5zje-story.html
Former U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, was, of course, a
highly renowned leader in the Civil Rights movement in the U.S.
We are very fortunate to have our own John Lewis as a leader
in the Civil Rights movement in Carroll County. Born in 1935, John Howard Lewis
Jr., his parents and nine siblings lived in a four-room house in Johnsville, in
a close-knit neighborhood of Black families. At that time, everything was
officially segregated in Carroll County – schools, restaurants, movie theaters,
community centers, swimming pools, bars and housing complexes. At night, John’s
parents lived in fear of a visit from the nearby Ku Klux Klan.
John attended elementary school in the two-room all-Black
school in Johnsville. His textbooks were damaged discards from the public
school – covered with scribbles, missing pages and often containing out-of-date
information.
As a young child, John worked hard on a neighboring farm and
for a neighbor on construction projects.
John joined a local troop of the Boy Scouts of America when
he was 11 years old. Shortly after joining, he was selected troop leader. In an
interview with Pam Zappardino for the African American Trailblazers oral
history series on the Community Media Center’s website, John reflected: “For
the first time in my life, I became a leader of a group of people. The Boy
Scouts gave me the first opportunity I had to travel and meet other people at
camping jamborees. In the woods, there was no discrimination. It was almost, to
me, as if we were in a different world. They taught us that you were your
brother’s keeper.” From that point on, John accepted leadership roles.
John went to Robert Moton, an all-Black high school in
Westminster, before dropping out at age 16 to work full time. He later received
his GED. He got his certification as a licensed practical nurse, and worked at
Rosewood State Hospital for several years. He then received certification as a
soil conservationist and worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 10
years.
John also started a career as a truck driver. In 1999, John
received the Truck Renting and Leasing Association’s national “Driver of the
Year” award. Only one driver is chosen each year for the prestigious national
award. To be considered, the driver must have at least 1 million miles or
25,000 hours of driving without an accident in which the driver is cited.
John participated in The March on Washington in 1963. As he
headed into D.C., stories of hatred and police brutality throughout the south
filled him with fear. “But as we pushed our way through the crowd, I fell back
on my faith and took comfort in it. The massive crowd was so inspiring, it made
you feel like, as African-Americans, the rest of the world has our back.” John
further recalls, “When Dr. King took the podium, trust me, we felt like we were
in a dream. When he finished, I felt like the gas tank of a car that had been
running on empty, all of a sudden was filled with high octane. I was ready to
run the race.”
So began years and years of John Lewis’s involvement in
civil rights activities and leadership of Carroll’s Black community. It is
difficult to arrange all of them in chronological order, but some with the
greatest impact are recounted below.
In 1963, John went to the Maryland State Legislature with
civil rights activist Phyllis Scott and other concerned citizens from Carroll
County to testify in support of public accommodations legislation. On the spot,
he was selected to give the group’s testimony. John recalls, “My heart started
pounding, and I asked for the Lord to give me strength. Phyllis advised me to,
‘Look like you’re examining the crowd and take a deep breath, then talk from
your heart and let them know what you think.’ I told the story with feeling and
compassion. When I finished, they clapped.” The Maryland General Assembly
passed the public accommodations law in 1963, making it unlawful for a
restaurant owner to refuse service to anyone because of race.
Following passage of the law, John and a group of residents
– including Blacks, whites and college students – tested it. John recalls, “We
visited every restaurant in the county. We were well dressed, well-spoken and
well-mannered. Three restaurants refused service, one in New Windsor, one in
Union Bridge, and one in Mt. Airy. In all three cases, the customers in the
restaurant jumped on the manager, ‘why didn’t you serve the man a cup of
coffee?’” John filed lawsuits against all three restaurants and was successful.
When he worked for the USDA, “we went to a restaurant in
Keymar and were told they would not serve a [negro].” The USDA filed a lawsuit
and won.
In a May 2006 Carroll County Times article written by Jordan
Bartel, he reports, “The only march was a small one in the early 60s in front
of the Carroll Theater that refused to sell tickets to Blacks.” John recalls in
his interview with Zappardino that, “we were supported by the Baltimore Colts.
They threatened to boycott Carroll County if it didn’t open things up.”
In 1969, John was a charter member and served as the first
president of the nonprofit Home Ownership Purchase Effort (HOPE), formed in
partnership with the Brethren Church, to provide home ownership opportunities
for low income Black families. John notes, “We purchased houses on Union Street
from [then] Western Maryland College, rehabbed or rebuilt them and sold them at
cost.”
In 1999, the Carroll County NAACP Branch (originally
established in the 1950s) got its charter back. John took on the role as
membership chair. “The membership had dwindled to 75 or 80. We didn’t have any
money in the treasury. My first responsibility was to get funds in order to pay
the national and state dues. I called the board members. We reached into our
pockets and paid the dues.” John raised the membership to more than 250.
John served as NAACP president in 2003-2004. With the help
of then-Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff, he was able to arrange for an office
in the Nonprofit Center, which opened in 2004. While he was president, he
worked to establish a Continuing Education Award to benefit African American
college-bound high school students graduating from Carroll County Public
Schools.
John helped his community in many ways. He has a beautiful
baritone voice. In 1974, he was one of a trio of “Brotherhood Night” singers in
a benefit to raise funds to connect Westminster’s Charles Street residents to
the city sewer system. In 1976, he played the role of Joe and sang “Ol’ Man
River” in September Song’s production of “Showboat,” to benefit The ARC of
Carroll County.
John has worked tirelessly to make Carroll County a
welcoming place for all. In 2004, his efforts were recognized at the Carroll
County NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet, where he received a Governor’s Citation and
a proclamation from Dayhoff honoring John for being “tirelessly compassionate,
persistent and always willing to volunteer his wise counsel and hard work,” and
proclaiming Nov. 20, 2004, as John Lewis Day in Westminster.
Lynn Wheeler is the board chair of
the Historical Society of Carroll County
Find it here on the Carroll County NAACP Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ccnaacp/
And on the CC NAACP website: https://ccnaacp7014.blogspot.com/2023/09/john-lewis-and-civil-rights-movement-in.html
https://www.facebook.com/kevindayhoff/posts/pfbid022aXYTdNTRZ9NAgTivQjetq1MgY3VjmEoJRKEN9oHU29wYFJffpQwKHMZqEW2T8XSl
