Congressman John Lewis, who
died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death. He wanted it to be
published on the day of his funeral. His staff provided a copy of the essay to
the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the morning of July 30, four hours before
his 11 a.m. funeral is to start.
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.
-John Lewis
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.