Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation
By John Lewis
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
A military honor guard carries the casket of late U.S. Congressman John Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement and
long-time member of the U.S. House of Representatives who died July 17, from his funeral at Ebeneezer Baptist Church to
a hearse en route to his burial in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. July 30, 2020. Alyssa Pointer/Pool via REUTERS
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
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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.
Mr. Lewis, the civil rights
leader who died on July 17,
wrote this essay shortly before
his death, to be published upon
the day of his funeral. This
essay was first published in the
New York Times.
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