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| John Lewis, the icon of the Civil Rights Movement passed away from cancer. |
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) has passed away from pancreatic cancer. He was a big as they come.
John Lewis was a pillar of the Civil Rights Movement. A man who risked his life and blood for racial equality. John would take a bloody beating to the head in Selma, Alabama to oppose racial segregation.
He was considered one of the big six members of Civil Rights Movement.
The lawmaker had been battling Stage IV pancreatic cancer and died after receiving hospice care in Atlanta.
Lewis kept up the fight for civil rights and human rights. Until his last breathe.....
Not many of us get to live to see our own legacy play out in such a meaningful, remarkable way. John Lewis did:https://t.co/KbVfYt5CeQ— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 18, 2020
My friend, role model, and activist extraordinaire has passed. Congressman John Lewis taught us how to be an activist. He changed the world without hate, rancor or arrogance. A rare and great man. Rest in Power and may God finally give you peace. #RIPJohnLewis pic.twitter.com/uQY48LoFzx— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) July 18, 2020
You sir, are perhaps the biggest impediment to restoring the Voting Rights Act, which John Lewis put his blood on that bridge for, and you have refused to allow HR1 onto the Senate floor, though it would make it easier for the next John Lewis to vote. Will you change that stance? https://t.co/jachckXpqt— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) July 18, 2020
I am deeply saddened by the passing of my good friend, @repjohnlewis. I’m grateful for his encouragement during my tenure in Congress. He welcomed me with open arms when I came to the House in 2011.— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) July 18, 2020
Sharing my reflections on the passing of @repjohnlewis. Rest in heavenly peace. #GoodTrouble. pic.twitter.com/jcA6OPm7Eh— Rev Jesse Jackson Sr (@RevJJackson) July 18, 2020
The son of sharecroppers, John Robert Lewis was born in 1940 in Troy, Alabama. He was a U.S. Representative from Georgia's 5th Congressional District from 1987 until his death. He was the dean of Georgia congressional delegation. The district serves a majority of Atlanta. He was a Democratic lawmaker.
Lewis was the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was a key figure in the fight to end racial segregation.
Lewis received honorary degrees and awards from eminent national and international institutions.
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| Barack Obama honors John Lewis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. |
Lewis was the third of ten children growing up in the city of Troy. Growing up he never had much conversations with the white people. He can only mention two white people who he talked to in the rural South. He experienced racism during his youth and into his teens. He went to live with his cousins in Buffalo, New York. He had an opportunity to be in an integrated school. Once he went back to Troy, he was awoken to the racism that affected African Americans.
He started to look up to Martin Luther King, Jr. He often heard his sermons on radio and started to take up the cause. When King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott he decided to join the protest.
He met Rosa Parks at the age of 17 and later King at the age of 18.
He would join the nonviolent protests. He would participate in sit-ins at restaurants, bus stations and gas stations in the south. He would participate in the Nashville sit-in at a local Woolworths to push for desegregation at lunch counters. Lewis was arrested and jailed over 40 times.
He was active during his teens. He would become one of the 13 original Freedom Riders. There were seven whites and six blacks who were determined to ride from Washington, DC to New Orleans in an integrated fashion. They knew the dangers of being integrated in the South. They feared illegal stops where it would result in brutal attacks and bloody killings.
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| John Lewis walked with the greatest leaders of Civil Rights. |
Lewis got his first taste of bloody attacks. His first encounter happened in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
He was brutally attacked by two white men when he decided to defy the segregated waiting stations.
He was given imprisonment in the iron college when he went into a restaurant in Mississippi. He took a lot a beatings and threats for defiance.
He would eventually lead the SNCC. He would rise to the ranks of chairman. He proposed to opening of Freedom Schools and he pushed for the Freedom Summers in Mississippi.
He organized voting enrollments and sit-ins at dime and nickel stores in the South.
During the 1960s, Lewis was known as a founding member of the Big Six. He along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Whitney Young, A. Philip Randolph, James Farmer and Roy Wilkins fought for systematic change in the United States.
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| John Lewis was one of the Big Six. |
Lewis faced opposition in the South. The Selma March proved to the catalyst of activism. When he and many civil rights leaders were attacked by the Alabama State Police it would be dubbed "Bloody Sunday" and it be the long lasting scars Lewis face his adult life.
Lewis still has scars from that day where he got hit by batons and tear gas.
Lewis would run for Congress in the 1980s. He would take on a seat that was once held by his old friend Andrew Young. He ran for the seat and lost to Southern Democrat Wyche Fowler, Jr.
Lewis didn't give up he studied the movements of Jimmy Carter and got a position for ACTION and VISTA. He held the position for two and a half years and resigned shortly before the 1980 U.S. presidential election.
Lewis would soon become a U.S. Representative in the late 1980s. He would fight for the seat against civil rights leader and friend Julian Bond. He and Bond were biter during their primary fight. Bond was a favorite among the Black constituents and Lewis was a favorite among the white liberal establishment.
He would beat Bond after a campaign of mudslinging and accusations about one another credibility in the movement.
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| John Lewis appeared at the 2018 San Diego Comic Con. |
Lewis is considered a progressive and left-wing politician. He is "a fiercely partisan Democrat who also shows a fierce independent streak." He is a progressive who earned respect from both sides of the aisle.
He would often clash with Republican and Democratic president when came to interventions with foreign countries. He would oppose the first Gulf War started by George H.W. Bush. He would oppose Bill Clinton's NAFTA trade deal. He would support George W. Bush and his military retaliation towards al Qaeda. He would later oppose the second Gulf War.
He would vote against the wiretapping without a warrant policies sparked by The Patriot Act.
Lewis would walk hand and hand with Nancy Pelosi and Democrats in the face of angry Republicans upset they were going to cast a vote to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
A man who stood against Donald J. Trump's zero tolerance policies towards migrant children. He criticized Trump for putting children in cages at detention camps.
He stood firm in the movement for Black Lives.
His last notable appearance was on CBS The Morning. He was interviewed by Gayle King and she asked him about George Floyd and his cancer treatment. He also was asked about participating in the dedication of 16th Street NW as Black Lives Matter Plaza.
"This feels and looks so different. It is so much more massive and all-inclusive. To see people from all over the world taking to the streets, to the roadways, to stand up, to speak up, to speak out, to do what I call "getting in trouble." And with a sense of determination and commitment and dedication, there will be no turning back. People now understand what the struggle was all about. It's another step down the very, very long road toward freedom, justice for all humankind."
"Well, we all are human. We all are a part of the human family. And it doesn't matter whether you're black or white, Latino, Asian American, or Native American, we're one people. We're one family. We all live in the same house, the world house. And as Dr. King said again, we must learn to live together as brothers and sisters. If not, we'll perish as fools. And I think what's been going on the past few days is living truth that we all are connected, and nothing, not anything, is going to separate us."
John Lewis was portrayed in the movie Selma by the actor Stephan James. He appeared in Atlanta rapper Jeezy's My President video.
He also appeared on children's show Arthur as himself.
John Lewis was married to Lillian Miles. She passed away in 2012.
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| John Lewis was featured on PBS' Arthur. |
Donald J. Trump, Mike Pence, Melania Trump, Karen Pence, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D-CA), Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will address his passing in some fashion.
This is a huge story here on Journal de la Reyna.
Do you believe John Lewis made an impact on civil rights in the United States?
John Lewis' death tears a hole in your heart. Me and LaReyna have talked about John Lewis and his impact on Black America.
It's like we lost a friend, a mentor and a father figure.
We will discuss more about John Lewis in the coming posts. His funeral will likely be televised and it will be another moment of unity between Trump and the former presidents.
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