The Words of John Lewis (1940-2020)
Civil Rights Leader and United States Congressman from Georgia
Thank you to Catherine Joy and Dena Palley
for this selection of quotations.
"You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone - any person or any force - dampen, dim or diminish your light.
Study the path of others to make your way easier and more abundant. Lean toward the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates...
Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation wisely, but when it is your time don't be afraid to stand up, speak up, and speak out against injustice.
And if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, than the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself."
- Lewis on being human in Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America
"Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America."
- Lewis speaking atop the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 1, 2020
"A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few. Ignoring these cries and failing to respond to this movement is simply not an option for peace cannot exist where justice is not served."
- Lewis on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
"The way this young man died, watching the video, it made me so sad. It was so painful. It made me cry. I kept saying to myself, how many more? How many more young black men will be murdered? The madness must stop. It was very moving, very moving to see hundreds and thousands of people from all over America and around the world take to the streets to speak up, to speak out, to get in what I call 'good trouble,' but to get into it. And because of the action of young and old, black, white, Latino, Asian American and Native American, because people cried and prayed, people would never ever forget what happened and how it happened."
- Lewis speaking on CBS News about the murder of George Floyd on June 4, 2020,
"Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society. Why? Because human beings are the most dynamic link to the divine on this planet."
- Lewis on political change in Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change
"Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part."
- Lewis on movement building in Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America
"Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society."
-Lewis on what he learned from movement building in Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America
May His Memory be a Blessing