John Lewis, Part 7: Memorializing John Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020)
John Lewis taught us – and his legacy continues to teach us – about using our voice to mobilize support for those in harm’s way, about responding bravely and with conviction in the face of injustice, and about integrity, remaining steadfastly peaceful and nonviolent while fighting for a cause. Whether as the (grand)son of sharecroppers on a cotton farm in rural Alabama or as the young boy who knew there was something wrong with “Whites Only” and “Coloreds Only” signs or as the teenager who felt Emmett Till could’ve been him or as the aspiring preacher who waged countless sit-ins in Nashville or as one of the 13 original Freedom Riders who refused to let a fractured skull stop him from continuing to challenge segregated interstate bus transportation or as the Chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who prioritized the empowerment of young Black southerners or as the youngest member of the “Big Six” leaders of the historic March