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Born in Troy, Alabama, the son of sharecroppers, Lewis was educated at the American Baptist Theological Seminary and at Fisk University, both in Nashville, Tennessee, where he became active in the local sit-in movement, and went on to become an important national leader in the civil rights struggle. After leaving SNCC, he became community affairs director for the National Consumer Co-op Bank in Atlanta, Georgia and a member of the Atlanta City Council before being elected to the House in 1986. He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.