Born and raised in the Los Angeles area during the 1950s and 60s, Lew Sitzer developed a curiosity to know more about the world. At 21, he had heard about the racial circumstances in Mississippi and decided to travel to Mississippi and help the black community register to vote.
He spent his days traveling door to door within the black community and was given a place to sleep in their homes. Lew really got to know the people that he met and grew to respect them. Poverty was extreme and conditions difficult both within the black communities and also during interactions that he had with other folks that didn’t want him there.
Lew recognized that one of the best ways to learn is to go out into the world and experience different cultures and places. In doing this he learned that living life that is fair and decent is a basic want of all people regardless of race. Living and working together is the only behavior that works in the long run. When making decisions in life, build for the long-term.