Acrylic on canvas, 11 X 14 inches. I was inspired by John Lewis, one of the most courageous persons of our generation. The painting was based on a photograph taken of John Lewis as stood on Highway 80 in Selma, Alabama with the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the background. The bridge is named after a bitter racist, Edmund Pettus. There is a movement to have the name of the bridge changed to be the John Lewis Bridge. As you can see in the painting, I’ve changed the name of the bridge.
The Edmund Pettus Bridge was the site of the brutal Bloody Sunday beatings of civil rights marchers during the first march for voting rights. John Lewis led the march on that Sunday, March 7, 1965. Police attacked the peaceful marchers, and Lewis was beaten and suffered a broken skull. Many other marchers were beaten and required hospitalization. Millions of people saw the attack on television. This horrible event pushed Voting Rights Act along and it became law soon after “Bloody Sunday.” This is a History Channel video of Bloody Sunday.
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