Apple updated its homepage over the weekend to pay tribute to John Lewis, the Democratic congressman and civil right hero, who died Friday at the age of 80.
Apple’s homepage featured an image of Lewis, with the quotation: “Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
Lewis was born in Troy, Alabama, in February 1940. He first came to prominence as a civil rights leader in the 1960s. He was a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and helped Martin Luther King Jr. organise the March on Washington event in 1963. This was the event where King delivered his iconic “I have a dream” speech. He was the youngest and last surviving member of the “Big Six” civil rights activists led by King.
He also organized the Edmund Pettus Bridge march in Selma in 1965. During the march Lewis and other protesters were beaten by state troopers. Televised footage of incident, during a peaceful protest, helped raise awareness of police brutality in the South.
We have lost an American hero. John Lewis guided us toward a more righteous world. He marched in Selma, he marched on Washington—he marched for us all. His life's work shaped our history and his legacy inspires us to continue the march for racial equity and justice. pic.twitter.com/WqW11757Io
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) July 18, 2020
Lewis was elected to congress in 1986 in Georgia’s 5th district. In 2011, President Barack Obama presented Lewis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“We have lost an American hero,” Cook says of John Lewis
In a tweet sent by Tim Cook, the Apple CEO wrote that: “We have lost an American hero. John Lewis guided us toward a more righteous world. He marched in Selma, he marched on Washington—he marched for us all. His life’s work shaped our history and his legacy inspires us to continue the march for racial equity and justice.”
Cook was far from alone in paying tribute to Lewis on social media. But civil rights is an issue Cook has spoken about regularly during his time leading Apple. Cook has often talked about Martin Luther King, Jr. being his personal hero. He has also talked about how growing up in the south during the 1960s impacted his views of the world.
