TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — Black History Month is a time of reflection and remembrance of those who paved a way for African Americans.

Many of those individuals came from humble beginnings in places such as Troy. Renowned civil rights activist and U.S Congressman John Robert Lewis was one of those individuals.

“He was always reading, studying trying to figure out what he could do to make things better,” said Harris’ brother, Henry. “When he was growing up, he did not like a lot of the signs that he saw, colored or white.”

The brothers of the late congressman reflected on their childhood in rural Pike County and recalled their own experiences with Jim Crow in the Deep South.

“We would go to the scales after picking cotton and weigh our sacks,” Harris’ brother Samuel told TrojanVision. “You would think that you had about 50 pounds of cotton picked, but somehow they always said that you had 40.”

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Henry and Samuel mentioned that although they were very supportive and proud of their brother John, events like Bloody Sunday caused Lewis’ siblings and parents to fear for the congressman’s safety.

“I could see the fear in my parents eyes when they watched that,” Henry said. “That really terrified me because I knew they were afraid not only of what happened, but what could happen in the future.

Henry and Samuel took a moment to reflect on some of their very last moments with their brother before his passing.

“My brother Freddie that just passed away, he told my brother, John, when he was on laying on his death bed, ‘John, I wish I could changed places with you.’ John replied, ‘No, ,I have lived my life. You just live yours.'”

Over the years, Henry and Samuel have been able to retrace the steps of their brother, alongside several other notable figures.

Henry and Samuel are the last two living brothers of Civil Rights Activist and U.S Congressman John Robert Lewis.