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You are here: Home / Politics / America / Congressman John Lewis, February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020: Rest In Peace

Congressman John Lewis, February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020: Rest In Peace

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Congressman John Lewis, February 21, 1940 - July 17, 2020: Rest In Peace

(Congressman John Lewis Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama; 15 FEB 2011)

Congressman John Lewis has died.

Here is his speech from the March on Washington:

Everyone should get into good trouble in his memory. And may his memory be for a blessing!

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

104Comments

  2. 2.

    Adam L Silverman

    @ruemara: I just emailed you about this. Do you want me to pull this one? When I started drafting it, I didn’t see anyone else working one up in the dashboard. Just let me know.

  10. 10.

    seefleur

    So very sad – I was just heading to bed but had to do my last-check-on balloon-juice… I’m in tears over this. We’ve lost a giant of humanity.

  11. 11.

    Elizabelle

    Thinking about John Lewis is such a balm for having to live in trumpworld.

    Such a big life and so much good he did. Pleasure to have had him in the world.

  12. 12.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Yet Dick Motherfucking Darth Cheney is still animated.

    There is no justice.

    Rest in peace, and in power, John Lewis. A giant.

  14. 14.

    Elizabelle

    John Lewis got to see the world changing back to the good.  Life caught up with BLM; Confederate icons are coming down;  Trump and his ilk are on the ropes.

    Does not get to see it personally, but he can see the winds of change prevail.

  15. 15.

    randal m sexton

    In my life there are things that I wish I could have done, and just missed the chance. Lot of musicians who I never got round to hearing , and then poof , they are gone. Its maybe sort of a vanity I suppose. One thing I wanted to do, for my soul ( which I dont actually -believe- I have ) was to march with John Lewis. A Giant has passed. Only thing left is to do the things that I would imagine – would let me look him in eye.
    RIP, John Lewis. I am a better and bigger person for knowing of you, but I am still but just little small old me. Election of our country coming up.  What would you do ?   Courage.

  18. 18.

    mrmoshpotato

    We vote all of these Rethuglican bastards out, for Elijah and for John.

    RIP to you both. ?

  20. 20.

    OGLiberal

    This is a swift kick to my sternum.  I’m not religious person at all but god bless this man.

  22. 22.

    HeleninEire

    I feel like I can’t breath. I really need to go back to Ireland. My bad for coming back.

  23. 23.

    Elizabelle

    Students as Sherman.

    Love it.  Nonviolently, but always good to invoke General Sherman.  Some people will not learn otherwise.

  24. 24.

    spudgun

    Sitting here crying my eyes out…rest in peace, sir.

    Oh, god-fucking-DAMMIT, could this year get any fucking worse?!?! (don’t answer that that, I know…)

  31. 31.

    geg6

    I am bereft.  One of the greatest Americans of my lifetime is gone and we will never see his like again.  RIP John Lewis.

  32. 32.

    Ruckus

    There are humans on this earth that transcend mere humanity and John Lewis was absolutely one of them. They are rare, we don’t often see them, they are quiet and unassuming. But you don’t have to know them personally to see that they are far greater than most. It could be taken as funny, but it’s not, that a number of people who fall into this range are black Americans. Some of them are old enough to know what it’s like to not be truly free in a free country. They were better anyway. John Lewis was one of them. He leaves a country and a planet absolutely in turmoil over it’s basic freedoms, that has been going on his entire life. It has a ways to go to be decent, but it is far better for him having been here and for being who he was.

  33. 33.

    Adam L Silverman

    @PaulWartenberg: No. There is a local family of African American activists and leaders, if I’m recalling correctly there name is Wirth. Regardless, they Wirths did the local organizing for the March across the bridge. And like Congressman Lewis, their blood was spilled on that bridge that day too. And when everyone went home, they were still in Selma fighting the good fight. The family, as you can imagine, is not amused that their name and their parents and grandparents actions, before, during, and after the march on Selma, are not being recognized and they are arguing the bridge should be renamed in their parents and grandparents honor.

    ETA:
    Found it, the family name is Reese.
    https://www.al.com/news/2020/06/rename-edmund-pettus-bridge-activists-politicians-split-it-does-not-help-history.html

  36. 36.

    Elizabelle

    I am liking this MSNBC profile.  Had not known about the campaigning on behalf of RFK, or that he was up against Julian Bond for congressional seat.

  41. 41.

    Elizabelle

    2013.  Screw John Roberts and the Supremes who gutted the Voting Rights Act.

    We need new legislation.  The John Lewis VRA 2021.

  42. 42.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Elizabelle: Southeastern Conference. It is the NCAA conference for college football that includes 14 universities across Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

    That’s the joke.

  43. 43.

    columbusqueen

    I always wanted to meet him, to tell him I was born nine days after Bloody Sunday & that I loved him for making the world a better place from the moment I emerged into it. At least we know the angels are serenading him with hymns of praise & joy.

  44. 44.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Alison Rose: Actually the family name is Reese.

    I honestly have no issue renaming the bridge for Congressman Lewis, but you’ve got to get buy in from the local community, especially those whose parents and grandparents were involved with the civil rights movement in Selma.

  45. 45.

    JPL

    Earlier today another civil rights icon and lieutenant of Martin Luther King died, although he was 95.  His name was C.I. Vivian.   It seems that Atlanta is losing all its heroes.

  46. 46.

    rikyrah

    ” I happen to believe that the vote is sacred. It’s the most powerful non-violent tool in a democratic society.”

    —Congressman John Lewis

  48. 48.

    JPL

    @rikyrah: A few days ago rumors of his death spread all over, and I assumed then that he was probably in hospice care.   Still sucks because I wanted him to be alive when Biden won.

  49. 49.

    Ruckus

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I hope to hell there are more than 36 in any one generation. At a time when there were far fewer humans, OK. But 36 out of each generation would still not be many, and where do you break the generations?

  50. 50.

    CaseyL

    A hero, a giant, a very good man.  RIP, John Lewis.  My god, will you be missed.

    There was a labor union organizer by the same name, founder of the CIO, which later merged with the AFL.  Even as a kid I knew who he was, because labor unions were sacred in our house.

    I remember once, quite a long time ago, when hearing a news story about Representative John Lewis, being terribly confused because I thought they were talking about labor union John Lewis, and it seemed highly unlikely that he was in Congress, because he had died in 1969.

  54. 54.

    JPL

    Twitter is telling me that the trump hasn’t mentioned Lewis yet, but has tweeted about other issues.   Local reporters are doing an amazing job honoring him and talking about their personal interactions with him.  One of the local anchors is holding back tears.   Lewis is definitely in the category of a life well lived.

  55. 55.

    Elizabelle

    Cruel dump into real life.  MSNBC lost film of John Lewis show, not over, and immediately to trump. Although at least it’s Mary Trump.

    Now back to greatness. With John Lewis.

  57. 57.

    Another Scott

    He was a great and a good man. RIP. Honor his memory. Do what you can to enhance voting rights.

    In other news, https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/07/whos-behind-wednesdays-epic-twitter-hack/

    “The way the attack worked was that within Twitter’s admin tools, apparently you can update the email address of any Twitter user, and it does this without sending any kind of notification to the user,” Lucky told KrebsOnSecurity. “So [the attackers] could avoid detection by updating the email address on the account first, and then turning off 2FA.”

    Great… (groucho-roll-eyes.gif)

    Seriously, social engineering and broken internal controls at companies that have our data are going to be the death of us all, no matter how “strong” our passwords are. They’re going to force us all to buy Yubikeys because of their incompetence.

    Grr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  58. 58.

    WaterGirl

    @Elizabelle:

    Cruel dump into real life.  MSNBC lost film of John Lewis show, not over, and immediately to trump. Although at least it’s Mary Trump.

    I don’t understand what that means.

  59. 59.

    Elizabelle

    @WaterGirl:   I am watching MSNBC online.  And they dropped the Lewis documentary at 12:57 and rejoined Nichole Wallace in progress.  And it was… trump. Although they went back to the Headliners special from the beginning a few minutes ago.

    Is there a way we can make the word trump really small? That would please me.

  62. 62.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @Elizabelle:

    I saw that too and my first thought was WTF is going on!

    Talk about your polar opposites of humanity..

    John Lewis embodied the absolute best of humanity while Trump embodies the absolute worst and I can’t wait until this repulsive monstrosity vacates the White House on Jan 20, 2021.

  63. 63.

    prostratedragon

    Oh.
    Oh.

    Also just a day or two after his fellow troublemaker C.T. Vivian.

    I watched the documentary Good Trouble for July 4, and recommend it. It is very uplifting.

  64. 64.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @Elizabelle:

    Is there a way we can make the word trump really small?

    Look on the bright side, in a few months we can make Trump out former President.

  65. 65.

    Ruckus

    @Elizabelle:

    I refuse to use his name, even in spite. When I did use it I would never capitalize it. It’s small and spiteful but then he asks for that, and more than deserves it. In place of his name I use shitforbrains. My phone brings that up as a possible when I type sh, because I’ve used it so much. Says it’s spelled wrong but still, brings it up.

  67. 67.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Another Scott: Our GRU friends are back!

  68. 68.

    HumboldtBlue

    Am I correct in that it’s Congress which decides on who gets a State Funeral?

    If so, this is a time to do so.

  69. 69.

    Elizabelle

    @Wyatt Salamanca:   And maybe with some serious research, we can eventually prove he was heaved into the Oval Office by the Electoral College, but did not even win that “victory” fairly.

    @Ruckus:   I never, ever call him president.  We deserve better, and voted for better.

  70. 70.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    G-d damn it. Could this year get any worse? I wanted him to live forever, or at least into the Biden administration. G-d damn it.

    Rest in power.

  72. 72.

    Elizabelle

    I am thinking that John Lewis might be just about to mess with trump from the afterlife.  To wit:

    there will be a lot of news about John Lewis, and hopefully a lot of footage of the ugly events of the 1960s.  People are home.  For some young people, this may their first extended look at footage from the Civil Rights era. Perhaps their families will be talking about then and now.

    And:  we have trump salivating over arresting BLM protesters with mystery feds. Cracking some skulls in Democratically-led cities.  An especially bad look, when a lot of the nation is thinking about the ugliness of the 1960s Civil Rights (and earlier) struggle.  Mourning a graceful and powerful soul, who made an enormous difference, through nonviolence and just plain hard work and enduring.

    WRT trump:  It’s like Bull Connor got elected. Although Connor had more government experience.  Probably more managerial skills, too.  Might have even known his way around a budget.

    I come not to praise Bull Connor.  But you get my drift, I think …

  75. 75.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @Ruckus:

    That’s still a pretty dark stain on the country.

    I agree.  Trump’s presidency has been a goddamn crime against reason, rationality, decency, and a fucking crime against humanity!  I wish Nixon, Reagan, Bush 1, and Bush 2 had all never served as President.  I not only wish Trump had never been President, I wish this sadistic scumbag had never even been born.  That’s how much I despise this bed wetting, nail biting, cowardly prick.

    Considering what the death toll will be on Election Day, I wish Trump could be charged with multiple counts of manslaughter.  Given the carnage that he’s has been responsible for during his term, simply voting him out of office feels cosmically inadequate (I wish he could go straight from the White House to a courthouse to stand trial for his many crimes) but at the very least we can stop him from having 4 additional years to inflict even more pain and suffering on this nation.

  77. 77.

    oatler.

    Even Chuck Todd has quit sports tweets to note his passing.

    No, wait, he hasn’t. Got a Hugh Hewitt spot to book!

  78. 78.

    prostratedragon

    @Elizabelle:  I thought the same thing just now when I ran up on a photo of Mr. Lewis being run and beaten down to the ground by police at Selma, where he sustained a skull fracture. Even as a still photo it is sickening to see; and though that was likely the worst injury, he suffered several serious beatings during those years. Seeing that in these days of voter suppression might just educate and inspire us.

     

    From a work that was premiered just after Selma, and dedicated to Dr. M.L. King, who would be proud to share it with Mr. Lewis:

    “Dawn in Dixie” from the Montgomery Variations by Margaret Bonds

  79. 79.

    Elizabelle

    @prostratedragon:   Thank you.  Did not know about Margaret Bonds.  Will learn more about her.

    ===

    Also think that remembering John Lewis will be a real spur to voter registration and making sure our voters turn out. Albeit, I think a lot cannot wait to vote.

  80. 80.

    Cacti

    A great man and a great American.

    Your dignity, courage, and conviction will be sorely missed in these dark times.

  81. 81.

    Dan B

    This news has me sobbing.  I am not sure how to explain.  He was beautiful in so many ways.

     

    How do we stop the Chad Wolfs and the people who believe that punishing makes us better.

    John Lewis was the beautiful embodiment of the love that is our strength.

    Nooo!  No! No! Nooooo!

    We must, we will, step into his shoes.

  83. 83.

    opiejeanne

    Today was rough already, I was already sick at heart about  the things happening in Portland, and then losing John Lewis just capped it all. I had hoped that he’d live long enough to see Biden’s inauguration, but maybe we can honor him by not letting Trump steal this election from us.

  86. 86.

    frosty

    @Ruckus: The solution I heard on this here almost Top 10,000 blog was to give shitforbrains* the honor of being the last president of the Confederacy. Then Biden follows Obama as 45, not 46.

    * h/t Ruckus of course.

  93. 93.

    low-tech cyclist

    Just like trees upon the mountain
    through the years grow straight and tall
    ’til the place where they’ve been standing
    seems deserted when they fall
    -Si Kahn

  94. 94.

    Zinsky

    In the 1960s, there were still giants who walked the Earth – JFK, MLK, Rosa Parks and others.  John Lewis was the last of them.  Rest in power….

  95. 95.

    JPL

    The family delayed the announcement because another civil rights legend had died earlier.   They knew that Lewis’ passing would take away from C.T. Vivian, a former lieutenant of MLK.   Atlanta has lost a lot today.

  96. 96.

    evap

    I woke up to this horrible, sad news.   Proud to say that I have voted for John Lewis 15 times and was so happy to have such a great congresscritter.    Last September, I ran into him at the Decatur Book Festival. He was obviously in a hurry, but was gracious enough to pause for some pictures.  I will cherish those pictures of me with Lewis forever.

  97. 97.

    Raven

    His original end to his speech at The March on Washington

     

    The time will come when we will not confine our marching to Washington. We will march through the South, through the heart of Dixie, the way Sherman did. We shall pursue our own scorched earth policy and burn Jim Crow to the ground — nonviolently.”

  98. 98.

    JPL

    @evap: It’s going to be difficult to follow in his footsteps, but someone has to.   Any idea who will run to replace him?

  99. 99.

    evap

    @JPL:  a good question.   Maybe Jason Carter will step up, he lives in the district and was in the state legislature for a while before he ran for governor.

  100. 100.

    Mousebumples

    Rest in Power, John Lewis.

    I mentioned it in the other thread too, but I’ll repeat it here. I recommend the March trilogy, especially for younger readers that would be more interested in the graphic novel versus a regular book. Great mixing of history and “current events” (e.g. Obama’s inauguration).

  101. 101.

    HeartlandLiberal

    I got to meet and speak with John Lewis a few years ago. He was doing a tour with the guys who created “March,” the graphic novel portraying history of Lewis and the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama. It was an honor to get to meet him. We come from Alabama, left in 1969, grew up in the middle of that history. We don’t forget. We remember. He was a giant among Americans, an icon of the drive for justice for ALL Americans. Proud to say my copies of “March” bear his signature.

  104. 104.

    KirkwoodATL

    When Great Trees Fall
    by Maya Angelou

    When great trees fall,
    rocks on distant hills shudder,
    lions hunker down
    in tall grasses,
    and even elephants
    lumber after safety.

    When great trees fall
    in forests,
    small things recoil into silence,
    their senses
    eroded beyond fear.

    When great souls die,
    the air around us becomes
    light, rare, sterile.
    We breathe, briefly.
    Our eyes, briefly,
    see with
    a hurtful clarity.
    Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
    examines,
    gnaws on kind words
    unsaid,
    promised walks
    never taken.

    Great souls die and
    our reality, bound to
    them, takes leave of us.
    Our souls,
    dependent upon their
    nurture,
    now shrink, wizened.
    Our minds, formed
    and informed by their
    radiance,
fall away.
    We are not so much maddened
    as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of
    dark, cold
    caves.

    And when great souls die,
    after a period peace blooms,
    slowly and always
    irregularly. Spaces fill
    with a kind of
    soothing electric vibration.
    Our senses, restored, never
    to be the same, whisper to us.
    They existed. They existed.
    We can be. Be and be
    better. For they existed.

    RIP John Lewis

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