--- title: Who Is John Lewis? Civil Rights Icon In Trump Museum Feud description: Congressman John Lewis is in a feud over a civil rights museum with Donald Trump. Here's what to know. canonical: https://time.com/5056006/rep-john-lewis-congress-trump/ author: Nash Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-08T17:21:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:30:13.339Z article:section: Politics og:title: John Lewis Is Skipping a Civil Rights Museum Opening. Here's Why That's a Big Deal og:description: Lewis, a civil rights icon, is feuding with Trump over the museum's opening og:url: https://time.com/5056006/rep-john-lewis-congress-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted4bdb5704b0cad4/6988f46322fb85b8f1e23fc1/gettyimages-624386880.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Nashville Public Library Awards Civil Right Icon Congressman John Lewis Literary Award og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John Lewis Is Skipping a Civil Rights Museum Opening. Here's Why That's a Big Deal twitter:description: Lewis, a civil rights icon, is feuding with Trump over the museum's opening twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted4bdb5704b0cad4/6988f46322fb85b8f1e23fc1/gettyimages-624386880.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John Lewis Is Skipping a Civil Rights Museum Opening. Here's Why That's a Big Deal > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Dec 8, 2017 5:21 PM UTC  Congressman John Lewis chats with addresses audience attending Nashville Public Library Award to Civil Rights Icon Congressman John Lewis - Literary Award on November 19, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. Congressman John Lewis chats with addresses audience attending Nashville Public Library Award to Civil Rights Icon Congressman John Lewis - Literary Award on November 19, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. Rick Diamond—Getty Images by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Dec 8, 2017 5:21 PM UTC Decades before he represented Georgia in the House of Representatives, Democrat John Lewis was a linchpin of the civil rights movement, a young firebrand from Alabama who in 1965 worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. to lead the historic march out of Selma. Not for the first time, Lewis is [now in a feud with President Donald Trump](http://time.com/5055004/john-lewis-donald-trump-museum-opening/). The latest spat began Thursday, when John Lewis announced that he would not be joining the President on stage during Trump’s forthcoming visit to the new Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. “President Trump’s attendance and his hurtful policies are an insult to the people portrayed in this civil rights museum,” Lewis said in a [statement](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-civilrights-mississippi/civil-rights-pioneer-to-eschew-museum-opening-after-trump-says-will-attend-idUSKBN1E2092). The announcement seemed to rankle the White House. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Thursday that “we think it’s unfortunate.” Here’s what to know about the situation between civil rights leader John Lewis and President Donald Trump. ## **Who is Congressman John Lewis?** John Lewis is one of the most prominent members in the House Democratic Caucus. He’s represented Georgia’s 5th Congressional District for nearly 21 years, popular in his home district and known on the Hill for his outspoken defense of liberal policies. At 77, age has not wearied him in any apparent sense. But John Lewis’ political roots are in civil rights. Lewis grew up in Jim Crow Alabama, a hotbed of racism and discrimination in the pre-civil rights era. He found his calling early: As a college student in Nashville, Lewis played a major part in the sit-in movement there. Lewis was also a major player in the Freedom Riders movement, protesting segregated public transit. Later, he helped lead the voting-rights movement in the mid-1960s. As Sen. Cory Booker [noted](http://time.com/collection-post/4736273/john-lewis/) in a tribute to Lewis, he is the last person still alive who spoke at the seminal March on Washington. Lewis often uses tactics from the battles over civil rights in his work on Capitol Hill. He has held sit-ins at the Capitol to protest a number of issues, from [gun control](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/house-democrats-hold-sit-gun-control-n597041) to [immigration,](http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/%5Fnews/2013/10/08/20874725-democratic-lawmakers-arrested-during-immigration-protest?lite) for instance. ## **What’s the relationship like between John Lewis and President Donald Trump?** John Lewis has been one of Trump’s most vociferous critics in the House. Back in January, in the weeks before Trump took office, Lewis [said](http://time.com/4635375/donald-trump-john-lewis/) that Trump was not a “legitimate president” and boycotted his inauguration. Lewis also [said](http://time.com/4635480/john-lewis-donald-trump-selma/) that he would never invite Trump to Selma, where decades earlier he led the march to Montgomery. In response, President Trump criticized the condition of Lewis’ congressional district: > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/820251730407473153) ## **Why are John Lewis and President Donald Trump feuding over a civil rights museum?** The feud between President Trump and John Lewis was rekindled when Lewis announced on Thursday that he would not be joining the President onstage for the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. The museum opens in Jackson on Saturday, according to its [website.](https://mcrm.mdah.ms.gov/) Trump will travel there after a Friday night rally in Florida, where he is expected to advocate for [Roy Moore](http://time.com/5047566/alabama-special-election-2017-date-candidates-polls/), the controversial Alabama Senate candidate who has spoken out on, among other things, gay rights. “President Trump’s attendance and his hurtful policies are an insult to the people portrayed in this civil rights museum,” Lewis said in a statement. “The struggles represented in this museum exemplify the truth of what really happened in Mississippi. President Trump’s disparaging comments about women, the disabled, immigrants, and . . . countless others who have given their all for Mississippi to be a better place.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded by calling Lewis’ decision “unfortunate.” “We think it’s unfortunate that these members of Congress wouldn’t join the president in honoring the incredible sacrifice civil rights leaders made to right the injustices in our history,” Sanders said in a statement quoted by [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-civilrights-mississippi/civil-rights-pioneer-to-eschew-museum-opening-after-trump-says-will-attend-idUSKBN1E2092). “The President hopes others will join him in recognizing that the movement was about removing barriers and unifying Americans of all backgrounds.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5056006/rep-john-lewis-congress-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5056006/rep-john-lewis-congress-trump/"},"headline":"John Lewis Is Skipping a Civil Rights Museum Opening. 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