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One of the great ancestors, the beautiful ones who taught “good trouble” has returned Home.
RIP #RestinpowerJohnLewis #JohnLewis @repjohnlewis.
A short thread on this beautiful warrior for love and justice.
RIP #RestinpowerJohnLewis #JohnLewis @repjohnlewis.
A short thread on this beautiful warrior for love and justice.
John grew up in a very humble home. As a child, he used to practice his oratory skills by famously preaching to chickens. He was one of ten children, and his parents were sharecroppers.
John was one of the original Freedom Riders, committed to having a coalition of black and white activists exercise the right to ride on interstate, desegregated buses. Time and again, he was brutally assaulted by white supremacist mobs in South Carolina, Mississippi, & Alabama.
"We were determined not to let any act of violence keep us from our goal. We knew our lives could be threatened, but we had made up our minds not to turn back"
In 1963, John became the chairperson of the influential young activists’ organization, Students for Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). It was SNCC that put constant pressure on Dr. King to take on a more radical nature in his activism.
SNCC, which was deeply committed to Gandhian nonviolent tactics, and John lived out this commitment even in face of brutal attacks by white mobs.
[You can learn about SNCC at this site at Duke University: https://library.duke.edu/slp ]
John was the youngest speakers at the March on Washington. When he passed away, the only surviving speaker from that August 1963 occasion. He was under extraordinary pressure to tone down his speech by other black leaders, even till the last few minutes before he took the mic.
He was in fact introduced by A. Phillip Randolph as "Young John Lewis." There was a generational aspect here, as Lewis was part of the "Emmett Till" generation of the activists who were moved to action by the lynching of Emmett (who would've been the same age as them).
The original draft of John’s speech is available online. You can read it here:
https://billmoyers.com/content/two-versions-of-john-lewis-speech/
In that original speech, John had openly talked about how the Civil Rights legislation was too little, too late. Here was his message to America:
https://billmoyers.com/content/two-versions-of-john-lewis-speech/
In that original speech, John had openly talked about how the Civil Rights legislation was too little, too late. Here was his message to America:
"We all recognize the fact that if any radical social, political and economic changes are to take place in our society, the people, the masses, must bring them about.... We won’t stop now....
We will march through the South, through the heart of Dixie, the way Sherman did."
We will march through the South, through the heart of Dixie, the way Sherman did."
"We shall pursue our own scorched earth policy and burn Jim Crow to the ground — nonviolently. We shall fragment the South into a thousand pieces and put them back together in the image of democracy. We will make the action of the past few months look petty."
"And I say to you, WAKE UP AMERICA!"
Under that heavy pressure, he toned down the speech to the more familiar version, which can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/70657416
John always maintained his dignity. He famously said that he smiled when he would be arrested because he knew that he was on the right side of history.
The iconic experience of John’s life came on the Edmund Pettus bridge on #Selma, where he and other nonviolent activists were savagely beaten by police offers. They were seeking to register for the right to vote.
"I said, 'Major, may I have a word?'" Rep. Lewis says. "He said, 'There will be no word.' We saw these men putting on their gas masks. He said, 'Troopers, advance.'" http://www.oprah.com/own-master-class/rep-john-lewis-firsthand-account-of-surviving-bloody-sunday
The images of the violence inflicted on John Lewis and the other demonstrators (which came *after* the March on Washington) were among those that shook the conscience of the nation.
John and others did not debate their commitment to nonviolence and direct action around a seminar table. They lived it confronted by police mobs and white supremacists.
While John Lewis supported Obama, he was clear that Obama’s victory was not somehow the “fulfillment” of Dr. King’s dream: If you ask me whether the election ... is the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream, I say, "No, it's just a down payment."
Obama penned a moving tribute to John Lewis upon his passing: https://medium.com/@BarackObama/my-statement-on-the-passing-of-rep-john-lewis-fa86761cd964
John was deeply committed to inspiring a new generation of activists. He wrote multiple graphic novels to convey the teachings of the black-led Freedom movement to younger people, and attended comic cons wearing the iconic rain jacket and backpack he was wearing in Selma.
You can find the trilogy he wrote for young people here: https://www.amazon.com/March-Trilogy-Slipcase-John-Lewis/dp/1603093958 This was a continuation of the strategy of the Freedom movement to publish graphic novels to reach wider audiences.
There is a new movie about John’s life and struggle, “Good Trouble”, which you can see the trailer for here:
John on prophetic hope: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
When I got a chance to spend time with John Lewis in Memphis as part of the 2018 commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s passing, this was his advice to me for the Muslim community's role: “keep your head up. Keep the faith. We are gonna get through this together.”
As part of the 50th ceremony for Dr. King, I had seen the dignity with which he treated Jesse Jackson and each of civil rights heroes. At the airport at 4:30 am, away from any cameras, he treated each and every janitor and sanitation worked with the exact same dignity.
John was involved in politics, and believed in both demonstrating on the streets and passing legislations. But he never sold his soul to either party, and was not afraid to call out the corruption of both parties.
May we remember his call that the struggle for Freedom is multi-generational, and that each and every generation--including ours--has to do its part to build the beloved community. Keep the faith, and stay on the side of hope.
Never give up. Never give in.
Never give up. Never give in.
John Lewis is a reminder for me that there are humble saints on this earth, doing the work every day. And that you might be beaten, but the dignity of your soul is never up for sale.
Thank you John for 60 years of Good Trouble. May you be now where there is only the Good.
Thank you John for 60 years of Good Trouble. May you be now where there is only the Good.
If these are the kinds of insights you appreciate, please feel free to join us on the course on the Civil Rights Movement that I teach here: https://www.illuminatedcourses.com/martinandmalcolm
It's open to all. And we will of course have a unit on John Lewis. Rest In Power, beloved ancestor.
It's open to all. And we will of course have a unit on John Lewis. Rest In Power, beloved ancestor.
