When you think about the Civil Rights Movement, there’s a few political leaders that should come to mind.
John Lewis should be one of them.
If you’re not sure who John Lewis is, that’s okay. That’s why you got us.
Photo: Wikipedia (John Lewis is to the right of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr)
John Lewis was the youngest of the Big Six civil rights leaders from 1963 to 1966, the peak years of the Civil Rights Movements in America. He was the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that opened Freedom Schools and organized some of the voter registration efforts during the 1965 Selma voting rights campaign. During his time as chairman, he wrote and delivered a speech in reaction to the Civil Rights Bill of 1963, denouncing the bill for it not protecting African-Americans against police brutality or allowing them the right to vote. (His speech is as important then as it is today, watch it here.)
Just a few years prior, John Lewis was at Fisk University receiving a bachelor’s degree in religion and philosophy. While many undergraduates pick up sports or theater as their extra curricular activities, Lewis was organizing sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, and became one of the thirteen original Freedom Riders in 1960.
Photo: PBS
Since 1988, John Lewis has been a member of the House of Representative serving Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, the most consistently Democratic district in the nation. Back in 2011, he was honored with a Medal of Freedom award from President Obama.
Last week, during an interview with NBC News, the Georgia congressman announced that he would not be attending President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. He stated, “I don’t see this President-elect as a legitimate president… I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected.” And much to Trump's surprise, he’s not the only one. Lewis is one of 29 other congressmen that refuse to attend the celebratory event.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) says he’s skipping the inauguration for women, for minorities, for Muslims, for justice. He will instead attend the Women’s March this Saturday.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) says he will instead stay with the citizens of Oregon to hear their concerns on the direction of this country. “There is unprecedented concern by my constituents about the many threats posed by a Trump administration seeking to implement the President-elect’s policies on health, environment, nuclear weapons, and immigration, to name but a few,” he wrote. This is his first time sitting out an inauguration in over two decades.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) sent out this message on January 12. “On January 20th, I will not be celebrating or honoring an incoming president who rode racism, sexism, xenophobia and bigotry to the White House,” she said. “I will be organizing and preparing for resistance.”
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), the first Puerto Rican women elected in office, tweeted, “I will not be attending inauguration of @realDonaldTrump but WILL participte in the @womensmarch on January 21st.”
So how is it possible that President-elect Donald Trump can openly and freely tweet, “Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart…All talk, talk, talk — no action or results. Sad!”
Instead of just agreeing to disagreeing especially on a weekend celebrating the Civil Rights Movement, that Lewis almost lost his life over, Trump wanted to be a bully. It’s all good. If 2016 didn’t do anything else, it taught us a lesson on the repercussion of Twitter fingers, and how much success it can bring to the side being attacked. (i.e., Drake vs. Meek Mill)
John Lewis was the first Congress to write a three part graphic novel series about his experiences as a leader during the Civil Rights Movement back in 2013. The March trilogy is now one of the biggest books in the country, selling out on Amazon overnight, thanks to President-elect. The series reached 106,700-percent in sales on Amazon. It is currently the number-one book on the site, up from #237, and is now sold out. Amazon is also sold out of Rep. Lewis’ biography, Walking With The Wind.
Let this be a lesson to us all, good always triumphs over evil.
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