John Lewis, by Clara Lang-Ezekiel, 2020
John Lewis lies in state at the U.S. Capitol
SNCC veterans: Loretta & Tim Jenkins, Joyce Ladner,
Courtland Cox, Frank Smith, & Sharlene Kranz
As remembered by Bruce Hartford
July 11, 2020
I wanted to say a few words about John. I never worked with him directly. In my four years in the movement I might've been in two or three meetings where he was present — big meetings. He spoke, but he and I didn't interact.
I was on the March on Washington when he gave his speech — which is not famous like Dr. King's speech — but it's still the other one that I remember. I remember his speech because, for me, whenever I hear the phrase "speak truth to power," his speech is the one that defines the concept for me. Because, he called out the Kennedy administration to their face and criticized the flaws and weaknesses in the administration's proposed civil rights bill. He laid it on the line.
It's so interesting. I was too far away to see this on the day, but later on, watching movies and newsreels, and watching the movie about the march on Washington, I saw that for all the other speakers, all the officials and notables on the platform, white and black, applauded and shook the speaker's hand. But when John finished, only the blacks, only the Afro-Americans jumped up and applauded and shook his hand. The whites sat stony faced. I'm not talking about Movement whites. I'm talking about Lord Cardinal Pooh-bah, George labor-leader guy, politician Huffnpuff, and the other bigshots. They just looked away. But, for the African-Americans on the audience, the only speech they cheered more fervently was Dr King's.
John was not a radical. I mean he was not a political lefty. And at certain points in my life I was disappointed or critical of him for not being that. But since I'm no longer a leftist myself, that's no longer an issue for me. But even at that time, when I was in my most radical, militant, "revolutionary," political-lefty, dogmatist, ideological phase, I always recognized that John held a moral center that he never wavered from. Yes, he achieved and doggedly held a big position. He enjoyed being in Congress. He took the perks and all that. But he was principled, he served his district and the people first.
There were times, and I follow legislation, there were times when he was one
of the few — the very few — in Congress who
sat up and said, "No"... who stood up and said, "No, no, I ain't going along
with this
When we lose John, we'll have lost a giant.
As remembered by Miriam Cohen
Glickman
I have great admiration for John, but while I was in SNCC, a bunch of us
thought he was trying to get himself killed. No one else would do some of the
things he did because of the danger involved. Instead of saying, "Oh, he has
so much courage," we thought, "What is going on with him?" One of his friends
in the Movement once asked him, "John, why do you keep allowing these racists
to beat you over your head?"
As remembered by Cathy Cade
I'm remembering John Lewis, civil rights leader and Congressman for 33 years,
who died July 17. I'm grateful for the friendship he showed me in the office
of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Atlanta in 1963 during a
short lived time when there were few friendships offered by Blacks in SNCC to
Whites in SNCC. I believe this was because Blacks wanted to express their
independence. I was close to John in the Atlanta office after I left Albany,
Georgia. He was working there. I was working there. This wasn't a sexual
relationship, but there was a lot of affection. It was a time in SNCC when
there wasn't a lot of emotional closeness between blacks and whites in SNCC.
The closeness that he showed to me, meant a lot to me. That's what I've been
able to dig up.
As remembered by Marion Kwan
I never met John but I believe I know him. I sense John Lewis when I see
injustices in Chinese-American settlements and in anti-Chinese or anti-other
races and sexual orientations and in places of religious intolerances. John is
my mentor. He is not Asian, but he acts like one: he is the all-American who
fights for everyone's American Dream.
It's okay to be an Asian American "Troublemaker" and go make good trouble
until all of America listens and changes its non-American ways. John Lewis
showed me how I would eventually feel about BLM.
As remembered by Jennifer Lawson
Sorry to hear this news, although it was anticipated. I'm glad that John is
being recognized widely at this moment for his longstanding commitment to
civil and human rights.
Our SNCC roster of those who have passed grows longer, but we can be grateful
that so many of those remaining are doing so much to continue the legacy that
John represented.
Even more powerful is the presence of all the people around the country, and
indeed around the world, protesting, marching, and voting for change, even
amidst a pandemic.
This is John's legacy too. One of the last images I saw of John was of him
standing on Black Lives Matter Plaza in DC.
"A Luta Continua" — The struggle
continues — Thank you, John, for all you contributed.
As remembered by Karen Spellman
John was a man of great courage- a strong force for justice. He fought the
good fight. Now may he Rest In Peace.
As remembered by Geri Monice
That image Jennifer mentioned — John Lewis courageously in the
plaza for Black Lives Matter — says much: who and what he was,
and who he will always be.
May he Rest In Peace!
As remembered by Derrick Johnson, NAACP
Late last night, I received the terrible news that Congressman John Lewis, one
of the most inspiring civil rights heroes of our time, had passed away.
Today, the NAACP family, and the entire nation mourn his passing with sorrow
in our hearts, but a conviction in our knowledge that his legacy will live on
for generations to come.
As remembered by James Kates
John's death shook me, although it was not unexpected. I remember one
particularly exuberant night in New York in the fall of 1964, him sprawled
across my lap in the back of my brother's (full) car as we drive downtown to
hear Nina Simone at the Village Gate. When the management saw we were a
boisterous lot of SNCCpeople, they ushered us into the front, and Simone sang
a song ("Don't you go marchin' with the NAACP") especially dedicated that
night to John. The last dealings I had with him personally were around the
legal release of rights for Letters from
Mississippi. C.T. Vivian, too, although not in my personal orbit.
We have heard the chimes at midnight.
As remembered by Bob Zellner and Pamela
Smith-Zellner
REMEMBER JOHN LEWIS
Bob and John were in SNCC together. Bob also worked on John's Congressional
campaign when Congressman Lewis ran for Public office in Atlanta.
Bob and Pamela work with several youth leadership groups, currently we are
working with Shirts Across America, high school aged students who have been
sending four delegations each year to New Orleans to rebuild houses in the 9th
Ward. Since 2007 they have financed 16 homes in NOLA and worked to rebuild
200.
I woke up this morning with my mind on freedom, thinking about the incredible
life of my friend and leader John Lewis. Most people don't get to know and
work with a truly historically great person. We have recently lost a number
of comrades like Connie Curry and Julian Bond. Yesterday news came that "the
movement" lost two more giants, C.T. Vivian and John Lewis. Pamela and I
learned of John's death last night in the midst of some movement work we are
doing. We sat on the couch in our living room in Fairhope, Alabama and cried.
It is early morning now and I have an urge to sit down with some remaining
comrades from SNCCC and the Civil Rights struggle to talk about John. John
never held himself out to be a fine theoretician of revolution, nor a great
orator like, Dr. King. He was content to be a common man, humble, just doing
what he can. John, a man of action, was a perfect young leader for the youth
uprising of the early sixties, the most militant of the March on Washington
speakers in 1963. His fame around the world made America look good. Not like
our nation's shattered reputation today.
Most movement folks will agree that john Lewis in Congress made us all proud.
In a corrupt profession — Politics, in a swampy corrupt location,
Washington, D.C., he chose not to be corrupt. Power seems always to corrupt
but John resisted as he resisted other evils in American life.
SNCC, with John's leadership, was the original Black Lives Matter movement.
Bernice Reagon, SNCC organizer and founder of SWEET HONEY in THE ROCK, wrote
Ella's Song, a freedom song articulating the belief that "We who
believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes. Until the killing of Black men,
Black mothers' sons, is as important as the killing of White men, White
mothers' sons, we cannot rest."
I was very close to John. We have similar names — John Robert
Lewis and John Robert Zellner, and we grew up in the same area of southeast
Alabama. A little white boy and a little Black both experiencing life on
Sharecropper farms. We came early to SNCC with similar church backgrounds,
sharing a belief in the power of nonviolent direction action. We were both
mentored by MLK and Ms. Rosa Parks, thereafter we worked in some of the same
areas of the deep South.
John Lewis has given us our marching orders. Keep on keeping on. Never give up
the struggle. Quitting is not an option.
Thank you, we love you, John.
As remembered by Leslie-Burl McLemore
I attended my first SNCC meeting when Chuck McDew was chairman. John Lewis was
the person that personified the "glory" days of SNCC. The visible role of John
and the behind the scene role of Jim Forman represented the most productive
years of the organization.
Rest in peace and power, John. We must carry on in your name and the names of
freedom fighters known and unknown!
As remembered by Carol Ruth Silver REMEMBERING JOHN LEWIS -- The Voting Rights Act of 2020
John Lewis was a Freedom Rider, a Congressman, a lifelong activist for the
civil rights of all people — not just for African-Americans
but the LGBTQ community as well, and as well for the rights of women, and the
disabled and other marginalized groups.
We will remember John Lewis, along with Rev. C.T. Vivian, who passed the same
day — he was one of John Lewis' mentors, who organized the
Freedom Rides and inspired John Lewis.
But what will we DO to honor these titans of the Civil Rights Movement? What
can we do right now?
We can join in the effort to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act of 2020,
which was already passed as H.R. 4 by the House of Representatives with John
Lewis as a sponsor, and has been for months bottled up in the Senate.
Listen here to Senator Kamala Harris:
However in 2013, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act,
effectively undoing its purpose.
Last year, John Lewis along with other House Democrats passed HR.4, a bill
that would reverse the Supreme Court's damage and restore the Voting Rights
Act.
Sadly, this bill is still collecting dust on Mitch McConnell's desk he
refuses to bring it up for a vote even now.
That's why today we're calling on Mitch McConnell to honor the life and
legacy of John Lewis by bringing the Voting Rights Act immediately to the
Senate floor for a vote and renaming it the John Lewis Voting Rights Act of
2020.
Call your Congressperson, your Senator, your sports idol, your social media
idol — let this be the banner for every protest march now
until it is effective — start an online petition, write an op-
ed: The vehicle is already there to reverse the pattern of voter suppression,
to make John Lewis's legacy real. Senators, Act Nowmpass HR.4, the John Lewis
Voting Rights Act of 2020!
As remembered by Daphne Muse
The voice and power of SNCC had a front-row seat in Congress for 33 years
through John Lewis. Through Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and as
a Veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, the presence of SNCC in Congress still
remains. Although I attended the March on Washington despite my supervisor on
my summer job with the Agency for International Development (AID) threatening
to fire me if I did, I was so overwhelmed by the amazing outpouring and the
magnitude of the voices on that stage and had no idea of the role the speakers
would play in shaping the history of the country and some of the world. It
also was my first introduction to so many who would be integral to the shaping
of my life.
While I did not know or never met Lewis, even though he graduated in my class
at Fisk in 1967, I realize that he came into his political formation as a
result of his comrades in struggle including Jennifer Lawson, Judy Richardson,
Courtland Cox, Ralph Featherstone, Charlie Cobb, Freddie Greene Biddles, Karen
Spelman, Stokeley, Willie Ricks, Ms. Ella Baker, Juadine Henderson, Bernard
Lafayette, the Freedom Singers, Bruce Hartford, Charles Sherrod, Lena Sherrod,
Bob Moses, Joyce Ladner, Connie Curry, and so many others. The magnitude of
this loss will continue to reverberate for years to come. I am confident that
others who came into formation as a result of the legacy of SNCC will hold
forth in the halls of Congress and magnify the voices, legislate policies and
claim victories for the freedom of our people.
Go well,
© Copyright
July 11, 2020
July 11, 2020
July 12, 2020
July 18, 2020
July 18, 2020
July 18, 2020
July 18, 2020
July 18, 2020
July 18, 2020
"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." — John Lewis
July 19, 2020
July 20, 2020
For so many years, Black Americans did not have the right to vote. But in
1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law granting Black
Americans that basic right.
July 30, 2020
Daphne Muse
The Seasoned Elder
Writer, Poet, and Cultural Broker
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(Labor donated)