Field Workers (John Lewis Series)

John Lewis was born to sharecroppers outside of Troy, Alabama in 1940. One of nine children, he was assigned the task of managing chicken coops from an early age.

Young John dreamed of being a preacher and practiced delivering sermons to the farm’s chickens. These were his first rehearsals for what would become a career punctuated by stirring speeches and calls to action.

As a child, he experienced the discrimination and segregation of Jim Crow, including attending segregated schools and being denied a public library card due to his race. Unable to check out books, the enthusiastic learner spent hours reading inside.

Due to safety concerns, his parents discouraged direct action against racial inequality. But teenage John Lewis was inspired by news of the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and the defiant courage of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Benny Andrews (b. 1930, d. 2006) was a celebrated African American painter, printmaker, and collage artist. Born to sharecroppers in Plainview, Georgia, he went on to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before finding success in New York City. His narrative works documented social and political themes of the times, including depictions of the American Civil Rights movement, anti-war protests, personal and familial narratives, and the relocation of American Indians. He later illustrated children’s books about the lives of prominent figures in Black history, such as Langston Hughes, Josephine Carroll Smith, and his friend Congressman John Lewis. The John Lewis Series was one of his final bodies of work.

“For Benny there was no line where his activism ended, and his art began. To him, using his brush and his pen to capture the essence and spirit of his time was as much an act of protest as sitting-in or sitting-down was for me.” – John Lewis