Final answer:
John Lewis's moment of truth was when he met Rosa Parks and was inspired to take action. His experiences, including organizing voter registration drives and challenging segregation, contributed to his leadership and activism. Lewis learned from Parks about non-violence and the importance of taking action when something is unjust.
Step-by-step explanation:
In his life, John Lewis described the moment of truth as the time when he met Rosa Parks and was inspired to take action. He was given a round trip bus ticket to Montgomery to meet with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Upon meeting him, Lewis was nicknamed 'The Boy from Troy.' This encounter with Parks and King sparked Lewis' involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.
Throughout his life, Lewis's experiences shaped him into the leader and activist he became. He risked his life by organizing voter registration drives, sit-ins at lunch counters, and challenging the injustice of Jim Crow segregation in the South. These experiences, along with his role as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), being a nationally recognized leader, and speaking at the historic March on Washington in 1963, contributed to his leadership and activism.
Lewis also spoke about how Rosa Parks inspired him and taught him about the philosophy and discipline of non-violence. He learned from her that if he saw something that was not right, not fair, not just, he needed to do something about it. This guidance from Parks and his belief in the necessity of 'good trouble' motivated him to continue his activism throughout his life.