A Tribute to John Lewis
Why should you care about the passing of Representative John Lewis? This is a good question to ask, and it is not rhetorical.
In the 1950s and 1960s the Civil Rights movement was picking up energy. Thousands of Americans, of all races, were uniting and demanding that Blacks be given complete equal and civil rights as Whites. Unfortunately, many, many thousands of Americans opposed this civil rights movement.
John Lewis, when he was in his early 20s, marched and protested to give civil rights to Blacks. In the South, where Jim Crow Laws forbade Blacks from sitting at Whites- only lunch counters, John Lewis and his friends sat down at these lunch counters and refused to move when ordered to do so.
For more information about how these “sit-ins” started see: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/lessons-worth-learning-moment-greensboro-four-sat-down-lunch-counter-180974087/
Often these peaceful protestors were beaten by the White customers and were arrested. John Lewis and his friends always maintained their dignity and non-violence when confronted and abused.
Beginning in 1957 with Montgomery Bus Boycott, which started when Rosa Parks, a Black woman, refused to give up her seat for a White man, many civil rights activists struggled to make other cities’ bus systems accept that Black riders could sit anywhere on the bus. John Lewis, who had been very moved by the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and his friend, Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr., decided in 1960 to become part of the Freedom Riders’ Movement. The Greyhound Bus driver was not welcoming to either Lewis or Lafayette. Later on, Lewis experienced a bus burning when local White citizens burned a bus that had Black riders on it. And, Lewis faced physical violence as well. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/opinion/john-lewis-dead.html
For more information about The Freedom Riders see: https://www.pbs.org/video/american-experience-freedom-riders/
John Lewis never hesitated to stand up against injustice when he witnessed it. In Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965, known as Bloody Sunday, Lewis “helped lead six hundred people marching for voting rights. After they had peacefully crossed a bridge, Alabama troopers attacked, using tear gas, clubs, and bullwhips. Within moments of their charge, Lewis lay unconscious, his skull fractured. He later said, “I thought I was going to die (David, Remnick quoting John Lewis, in The New Yorker, July 27, 2020, page 8).” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/07/27/how-to-redeem-america
For more information about Bloody Sunday see:
SNNC Gateway
https://snccdigital.org/events/bloody-sunday/
John Lewis went on to serve as a US Representative from 1987 until his death on July 17, 2020. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama who acknowledged that he was only elected president because of John Lewis’s efforts to make the US government give civil rights and protections to America’s Black citizens.
So, why should you care about Representative John Lewis? Because he rose to every occasion to fight for and demand greater civil rights and freedoms. He did it knowing he would be beaten, arrested, harmed, insulted, and possibly even killed. He never backed down. He is an example of a true American hero.
It makes no difference if you are not Black because when one person or one group gains more liberty, freedoms, dignity, rights, and protections, we all gain those same rights. Mr. Lewis knew that to gain these inalienable rights, he would have to be prepared to sacrifice himself. Fortunately, he was not forced to make this ultimate sacrifice like his contemporaries Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers. They never lived to see their dreams fulfilled. Lewis lived to see his dreams somewhat fulfilled; yet he certainly knew that the struggle will continue long after his death. He was there as all Americans became freer because of his drive, and he was there fighting for justice right up until his last days.
This is what a true hero does. A hero pushes on through personal and social adversity to accomplish what is right, and Mr. John Lewis did just that. Not for himself, but for all of us.
Joshua Halsband
July 24, 2020
