When Lewis returned to Alabama, he was reminded at every turn of how different his life was compared to the white children in his community. Black citizens’ roads remained unpaved and their school buses were dilapidated. The schools of white children had nice playgrounds, unlike the dirt yards of Lewis’s own schoolhouse. Every day, his school bus passed prison work gangs, and Lewis took note of how the prisoners were almost always Black.

Despite its shortcomings, Lewis loved his school. The library exposed him to several new worlds and ideas, and he devoted himself to reading and studying. Yet, when farm work had to be done, Lewis was forced to put his education on hold. In the mornings when he was supposed to head to the field with his family, Lewis hid, so he could sneak off to school. Each time Lewis ran away to get on the school bus, he returned home to be reprimanded, but his father never punished him.

In May 1954, Lewis learned of the US Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Brown challenged a state law that prevented Black students from attending white schools.