“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” John Lewis
What exactly do you say about a man who dedicated his entire life to serving others? How do you compose the words to describe someone who was truly larger than life? The truth is, there are no words that can truly capture everything that John Lewis embodied and what he meant to the civil rights movement and to Black people in this country. His passing leaves extremely big shoes behind that may never be filled. However, we can all strive to be exceptional human beings, as he was.
I met Congressman Lewis on several occasions and at the Democratic National Convention in 2008, I was seated next to him while we waited for the keynote speaker. It was clear to me that John loved all people. I had the time of my life as we engaged in a four-hour conversation that would ultimately reshape my political career and my commitment to serve. At that time, I had served for 10 years in the Georgia House of Representatives and had just been elected to the State Senate. I was thinking about retiring, but as John and I talked, his emphasis on public service and the need for more leaders to change social justice had a great influence on me. I recommitted myself to public service, believing as John did, that change can happen nonviolently, with respect for each other.
John Lewis’s extraordinary life began in 1940 when he was born to sharecroppers. He first met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the age of 18 and gave himself wholeheartedly to the pursuit of racial justice. Everything he worked for was undergirded by the principles of peace, love, and nonviolence, although he was arrested more than 40 times for his activism. We must heed John’s call when he said, “Now we have black and white elected officials working together. We have gone beyond just passing laws. Now we have to create a sense that we are one community, one family. Really, we are the American family.”
John Lewis was my hero. He was a giant among men who fiercely dedicated his life to fighting for equality and justice for all. He fought this fight – with nonviolence and love for all – until the very end, and our nation is a better place because of him. We should all be thankful that we were able to witness his extraordinary and selfless leadership during our lifetime. A man of strong Christian convictions who once considered being a minister, John is now home. So now we say to you Congressman John Lewis, “Well done thy good and faithful servant.” Continue to walk with the wind at your back.
To honor this wonderful man and to keep his legacy alive, fighting injustice, we should all do as Congressman Lewis would do and “get into some good trouble!”
State Sen. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah.
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