On July 17 we lost a great American icon, Representative John Lewis.
As a child, John Lewis was denied a library card because he was black, an incident that would spark a flame for justice that would never go out. As a teenager, he helped to found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, organizing sit-ins at lunch counters and voter registration drives. At 23 he was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington. And at 25 he was nearly killed in a march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama, when a peaceful protest for voting rights was met with violence. He was bloodied and beaten, but he was not broken.
In 1986 John Lewis was elected to the House of Representatives, and represented his constituents in Atlanta, Georgia, for 34 years. He would become "the Conscience of the Congress," and in 2011 received the Congressional Medal of Freedom, our country's highest civilian honor. In 2016, he led a sit-in on the floor of the U.S. House to protest gun violence. He was 76 years old. Think about it. He was 76 and he was still fighting for what he thought was right.
These may just sound like dates and numbers to you, but to me they make it clear - you can never be too young, or too old, to stand up for what you believe. To use whatever gifts and talents you have to make a difference in the world. John Lewis's gifts were courage, perseverance, and the ability to inspire others toward a more just world.
In 2014, Congressman Lewis was the commencement speaker at Emory University. Here is just a portion of his remarks:
If you see something that’s not right, not fair, not just, do something about it. Say something. Do something. Have the courage. Have the backbone to get in the way. Walk with the wind. It’s all gonna work out.
I was beaten, yes, several times, left bloodied, but I didn’t give up. I didn’t become bitter. The way of peace, the way of love, the way of nonviolence is a much better way. And it doesn’t matter whether we’re black or white, Latino, Asian American, or Native American. It doesn’t matter whether we’re straight or gay, bisexual, transgender. We are one people, we are one family, we are one house. We must learn to live together as brothers and sisters.
If you go out and do what you must do, you have the power, you have the ability, not just to change America, but you have to change the world and create a world community at peace with itself. Go out and redeem the soul of America, the soul of the world, help create the Beloved Community. So I say to you today, walk with the wind. And let the spirit of peace, justice and love be your guide.
At ATYP we teach English, math, and computer science, but there is so much to learn outside of the classroom. Learn from John Lewis. You can read more about his life in his two autobiographies, Walking with the Wind and Across that Bridge, or in the graphic novels March One, Two, and Three. You can also watch the movie Selma. Although Selma is not a documentary, it details those days around the march on the Edmund Pettis Bridge. You can also see and hear all of the commencement speech on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvD6Zfvih3g.
Much of what we can learn from Congressman Lewis is how to respect one another, and how to be kind to one another. We can live out his legacy by remembering that every day, and especially right now. People are stressed and on edge, but we all need grace. Let that be the lesson we learn and set as an example for the rest of the world.
Til next time,
Ms. Nan
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