John Lewis has passed away. He was one of the few politicians that I had actual respect for. I was an adult before I even heard about the freedom riders, when I was informed by a television documentary.
Look up information about the freedom riders if you are unaware of what they did. We lost a brave leader with this passing.
Oh man. This is sad. I almost met him a couple of times. Truly a lion.
I have cried multiple times this morning, and I am a middle-aged, privileged white man. I cannot begin to understand the grief that those to whom he meant more must be feeling.
It’s probably the collected awfulness of the recent past piling up to make me feel this more acutely, but this morning I’m feeling a great deal of shame that I have done nothing even remotely as courageous and selfless as Mr. Lewis did on any number of discrete occasions in his lifetime. Granted, we can’t all take part in something iconic like the Selma march, but we can all do more. Some of us, and I’m looking at myself right now, should do a lot more.
If we had any collective sense there would already be a piece of legislation or an ordinance to, today, as soon as someone can get out there, rename that bridge the John Lewis Memorial Bridge and consign Edmund Pettus to ignominy where he belongs.
Could 2020 be any worse?
Don’t need answers fast.
Renaming the Edmund Pettus bridge would be a good tribute to John Lewis, but it’s possible that a more vital initiative would be to get the Voting Rights Act beefed up:
I like the remembrances of John Lewis that include quotations from his long career in public life. He made some very memorable remarks over the years; a few are collected here:
A real loss.
I wish there were more like him.
A lighter moment:
Oh, that’s great!!!
Very moving photo:
I think this is the only exception I have made to my “don’t have heroes” rule. I have been lucky to see him up close, although I never got the chance to speak to him. I was hoping that in my new job, I would get that chance.
A guy at work has an edition of his comic book signed in person by Lewis—I was quite jealous—
I’ll always remember a bit he did on The Daily Show. Some Republicans were peddling some nonsense about how today’s black politicians would be scorned by Martin Luther King and had no idea what King’s values were, and Lewis pointed out that he was one of King’s close associates.
I have autographed copies of the first two March graphic novels. Lewis did an autographing tour for at least those two volumes. I don’t remember anymore why I couldn’t get the third one signed.
Nice!