Wicked Local MANSFIELD – If you wanted to learn about one person during Black History Month, Sethu Odayappan recommends Georgia Congressman John Lewis. Lewis, who passed away in July, was an American politician and civil rights activist. He was one of the leaders of groups who organized the 1963 March on Washington and fulfilled many key roles in the civil rights movement and its actions to end racial segregation in the United States. “He was someone who has been through so much racism and discrimination but was still optimistic and positive,” Odayappan said. “His message is a message of hope.” Odayappan is a member of Guiding Mansfield Forward, a group started last summer by several recent Mansfield High School graduates to build racial awareness and inclusion in the Mansfield Public Schools.