Walking with the Wind

The one good thing that happened at the end of 1968 was that Lewis married Lillian Miles, the love of his life and a fellow activist. Unable to have biological children, Lewis and Lillian adopted John-Miles in 1976. It was love at first sight for both Lewis and Lillian.

Participation in Bobby Kennedy’s campaign convinced Lewis that politics could show Black Americans in the South that it was both possible to elect representatives and become those representatives. Though President Johnson’s derailment of the MFDP destroyed many Black Southerners belief in the American political process, Lewis believed it was time to restore their faith. Local and state governments throughout the South now included some Black elected officials, but Lewis set his sights on sending a Black American to Washington, DC. He was convinced that Julian Bond, who by this point had served three years in Georgia’s statehouse, could become the first Black Representative.

Between 1970 and 1977, Lewis served as executive director of the Voter Education Project (VEP), which initially focused its efforts on providing financial support to groups focusing on securing civil rights for Black community members in the South. Lewis expanded the program’s mission to include services to other minority groups and people from low-income backgrounds.