Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
His Truth Is Marching On summary
Jon Meacham and John Lewis
John Lewis and the Power of Hope
23 mins
Table of Contents
His Truth Is Marching On
summarized in 7 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 7
Growing up in Alabama, John Lewis learned to connect faith and justice.
August 1955 in Money, Mississippi, a 14-year-old Black boy named Emmett Till is accused of whistling at a white woman. He's beaten to death by a white crowd – the lynching goes unpunished.
December 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, a Black woman named Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a segregated bus. She's arrested and charged – but goes on to lead a months-long boycott of the bus system.
February 1956 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a Black woman named Autherine Lucy tries to attend classes at the University of Alabama. She's attacked by a white mob and pelted with stones and rotten fruit.
This is the American South in the mid-1950s. It's a time and place where overt racism and segregation is the norm. But, it's also filled with courageous people fighting these injustices.
The key message here is: Growing up in Alabama, John Lewis learned to connect faith and justice.
John Lewis was born just outside of Troy, Alabama in February 1940. His parents were sharecroppers, and the family eked out a living raising chickens, cotton, and corn. Their house was small – three rooms with no electricity or running water – and all the children had to lend a hand on the farm. But as tough as life was at home, it was even worse out in the world.
It was the Jim Crow era, and Alabama, like other southern states, was segregated. African Americans were forced to use separate, inferior facilities, faced harsh barriers to voting, and received little protection from racist violence. This reality wasn't lost on Lewis, who felt the injustice firsthand when he saw how rundown his school was compared to the one for white kids.
One ray of hope came from his faith. Lewis's family attended the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal church. He loved the community and the ritual, but he loved the preaching most of all. As a child, he was so inspired that he would practice by delivering rousing sermons to the chickens back on the farm.
In 1955, Lewis's faith took a new turn when he first heard Martin Luther King Jr. deliver a sermon on the radio. King spoke of the social gospel – a doctrine that said a true Christian wasn't only concerned about heaven but also dedicated to improving conditions here on earth.
King's words about fighting for justice, equality, and dignity struck a chord with Lewis. The civil rights movement was brewing around him, and King's teachings seemed like the right way forward.
Want to see all full key ideas from His Truth Is Marching On?
Key ideas in His Truth Is Marching On
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is His Truth Is Marching On about?
His Truth Is Marching On (2020) tells the extraordinary life story of the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, interweaving his personal journey with the larger arc of American history.
Who should read His Truth Is Marching On?
- History buffs intrigued by the personalities behind the civil rights movement
- Political junkies interested in the life of a powerful leader
- Anyone who’s been inspired by John Lewis
Categories with His Truth Is Marching On
Books like His Truth Is Marching On
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked
The First Conspiracy
Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch
The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington
19 min
4.3
A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara
An Epic Novel About Queer Life, Friendship & Human Endurance
22 min
4.7
Start growing with Blinkist now
26 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers