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February 21, 1940, Alabama - July 17, 2020, Atlanta, GA
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Toula McCarley
31 July 2020
�������� #johnlewis #civilrights #stoppolicebrutality #blacklivesmatter #restinpower
#restinpeace #restinlove #liveinlove
John Lewis asked that The New York Times publish this message from him on the day of his
funeral. Here is what he wrote to be published today:
"Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation"
"Though I am gone, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what
you truly believe.
While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours
of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American
story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people
motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country
and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for
human dignity.
That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the
hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent
witness, the truth is still marching on.
Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna
Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever
forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days,
fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality
committed for no understandable reason were the bars.
Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their
love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle.
Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a
simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country
road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so
readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her
brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and
dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.
Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way
in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about
the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate
injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a
moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right,
you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each
generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and
world society at peace with itself.
Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I
call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key.
The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You
must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.
You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this
soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood
in your shoes, though decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is
why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time.
Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put
away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.
Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and
stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the
way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to
let freedom ring.
When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was
your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally
triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and
sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide."
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Barack Obama ~ 18 July 2020
America is a constant work in progress. What gives each new generation purpose is to take up
the unfinished work of the last and carry it further - to speak out for what's right, to challenge an
unjust status quo, and to imagine a better world.
John Lewis - one of the original Freedom Riders, chairman of the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee, the youngest speaker at the March on Washington, leader of the march
from Selma to Montgomery, Member of Congress representing the people of Georgia for 33
years - not only assumed that responsibility, he made it his life's work. He loved this country so
much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise. And through the
decades, he not only gave all of himself to the cause of freedom and justice, but inspired
generations that followed to try to live up to his example.
Considering his enormous impact on the history of this country, what always struck those who
met John was his gentleness and humility. Born into modest means in the heart of the Jim Crow
South, he understood that he was just one of a long line of heroes in the struggle for racial
justice. Early on, he embraced the principles of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience as
the means to bring about real change in this country, understanding that such tactics had the
power not only to change laws, but to change hearts and minds as well.
In so many ways, John's life was exceptional. But he never believed that what he did was more
than any citizen of this country might do. He believed that in all of us, there exists the capacity
for great courage, a longing to do what's right, a willingness to love all people, and to extend to
them their God-given rights to dignity and respect. And it's because he saw the best in all of us
that he will continue, even in his passing, to serve as a beacon in that long journey towards a
more perfect union.
I first met John when I was in law school, and I told him then that he was one of my heroes.
Years later, when I was elected a U.S. Senator, I told him that I stood on his shoulders. When I
was elected President of the United States, I hugged him on the inauguration stand before I was
sworn in and told him I was only there because of the sacrifices he made. And through all those
years, he never stopped providing wisdom and encouragement to me and Michelle and our
family. We will miss him dearly.
It's fitting that the last time John and I shared a public forum was at a virtual town hall with a
gathering of young activists who were helping to lead this summer's demonstrations in the wake
of George Floyd's death. Afterwards, I spoke to him privately, and he could not have been
prouder of their efforts - of a new generation standing up for freedom and equality, a new
generation intent on voting and protecting the right to vote, a new generation running for
political office. I told him that all those young people - of every race, from every background and
gender and sexual orientation - they were his children. They had learned from his example, even
if they didn't know it. They had understood through him what American citizenship requires,
even if they had heard of his courage only through history books.
Not many of us get to live to see our own legacy play out in such a meaningful, remarkable way.
John Lewis did. And thanks to him, we now all have our marching orders - to keep believing in
the possibility of remaking this country we love until it lives up to its full promise.
Source: Michelle Obama ~ FB post ~ 18 July 2020
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