Once at the table, he realized that he needed to help draft the documents that got discussed at the table. There is a saying- “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu and someone is eating you for lunch.” Shirley Chisholm said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Lewis realized that to make transformative change, he had to be at the table and often bring his own chair. A racial equity advocate speaks up and speaks out, stands in the gap, and sits at the table to advocate for people who cannot advocate for themselves. I frame it as transitioning from a racial equity advocate to a racial equity broker. Lewis is the personification of transitioning from a political activist to a politician. He was adamant about supporting free speech, but he was also adamant about condemning hate speech. “I believe in freedom of speech, but I also believe that we have an obligation to condemn speech that is racist, bigoted, anti-Semitic, or hateful.” Lewis epitomizes it and encourages us to not be silent. You have to say something you have to do something.” This motto should apply in all aspects of our lives. Lewis stated, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. My grandfather who served in two wars earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star taught me from birth that my silence is my acceptance. We have to be willing to speak up about injustice, always, no matter the costs. He taught us the importance of speaking up and speaking out. “Speak up, speak out, get in the way,” said Lewis. Good trouble, necessary trouble.” Young people can and should push for transformative change and hold us accountable to it. Lewis stated, “I want to see young people in America feel the spirit of the 1960s and find a way to get in the way. Older people are often socialized in the current arrangement of society and cannot fully envision a radically different world. Lewis teaches us that age is nothing but a number and young people have to be the change they want to see by pushing and forcing older people for equitable change. Lewis’ youth gave him a vision for a more transformative society that was mostly socialized out and, in some cases beaten out, of older leaders. Imagine how this moment in the Movement for Black Lives may be different had elder Civil Rights leaders listened to Lewis. Lewis also critiqued civil rights legislation for not addressing police brutality against Black people. Lewis was critical of the Kennedy administration and the slowness by which broad scale legislation change was occurring at the federal level. Elder civil rights leaders aimed to taper his words. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy.”Īs a founder and leader of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lewis was the youngest person to speak at the March on Washington. Now, Congress must honor Lewis’ legacy and ensure an equitable participation in the democratic process. As Lewis noted, “The vote is precious. “Some of us gave a little blood for the right to participate in the democratic process,” said Lewis. Lewis was an original Freedom Rider, participated in many sit-ins, and was arrested dozens of times for people to have the right to vote. This is why it is imperative for Congress to act swiftly to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to ensure equitable access to the polls. But the Shelby v Holder Supreme Court decision in 2013 essentially gutted the Voting Rights Act and paved the way for widespread voter suppression and gerrymandering. This finally occurred with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. One major part of the Civil Rights Movement was Black people gaining the right to vote.
It highlights his life’s work-equitable voting. If it didn’t, why would some people keep trying to take it away? #goodtrouble” Lewis sent this tweet on July 3, 2018. This defining moment encapsulates five things he taught us about getting in good trouble. Musicians John Legend and Common won an Oscar for the song “Glory.”īloody Sunday is often noted as a pinnacle of Lewis’ life. Bloody Sunday was highlighted in Ava Duvernay’s Oscar-nominated best picture film Selma. This march also occurred a year and a half after the infamous March on Washington highlighting that little had changed in the lives of Black people in America. Jimmie Lee Jackson, a 26-year-old church deacon, was killed by James Bonard Fowler, a state trooper in Alabama. The 600-person civil rights march was actually about police brutality. Twitter context behind the march is significant.
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