Yesterday was a day I spent on musing and debating about a questionable tweet from the many of President Trump, but of course, it was not sufficient enough to stop some of us from watching the funeral of one of the greatest men in the history of the United States, John Lewis.
Instead of explaining that postponement of an election is not among the list of presidential prerogatives, my mind tells me that it will be a waste of time. So, the practical self in me prefers to dwell on and speak on the journey of one of the giants of the struggle for the recognition of what so many people out there don't want to hear, "Civil Rights". After King, i think Lewis, in my opinion, deserves recognition beyond whats being ascribed to him, and above all, yesterday's coverage was too poor, to say the least.
For those of you who do not know the man, John Robert Lewis has been more than a representative of Georgia in the House. The one whom his colleagues considered the conscience of Congress was first and foremost a determined activist, from an early age.
Revolted by the sordid murder of young Emmett Till in 1955, John Lewis was only 15 when he decided that the search for greater social justice would be the fight of his life. A life he will risk repeatedly. If history gives more room to Martin Luther King, we must not forget that Lewis was also one of the theorists of peaceful action. John Lewis marched through the streets of racist towns in the South during freedom rides, he sat in restaurants where blacks were not served, he stayed behind bars for opposing segregationist laws and so on. he was left for dead after one of Selma's infamous walks.
We sometimes forget that John Lewis was also in Washington in 1963, when Martin Luther King shared his dream of an egalitarian nation. He is only 23 at the time, but he nevertheless speaks alongside more experienced leaders. Already, he underlines that, if one must be patient, this patience has its limits. It is the pressure of activists like Lewis that explains the promulgation of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. He shed his blood for the cause and we do not always measure the obstacles overcome to obtain these gains. All this just over 50 years ago, but 100 years after the emancipation of slaves at the end of the Civil War.
I don't know about you but I was deeply moved by the ceremony that took place yesterday for several reasons. The testimonies we heard constituted real lessons in history, but above all lessons in dignity. As the United States goes through a particularly difficult time and the country is deeply divided, listening to the speakers including three presidents present the journey of a simple and good man was reassuring. Respect and decency always have their place. Many observers are particularly interested in the testimony of former President Obama. Some were indignant at the resolutely political nature of certain passages. Yet it went without saying that the first black president in American history presented himself as the heir to the fight of Lewis and other activists.
Can anyone blame Obama for recovering the message of a man whose entire life was marked by the political struggle? The 44th president stressed the gains made by activists of the previous generation, but how could he ignore that Lewis died while some lawmakers reopen the door to the exclusion of minorities and the black community still evident in streets? Hasn't the patient Lewis referred to in 1963 reached its limits?
He insisted on the importance of action, but also on love and non-violence. In his view, exercising his right to vote is the most effective way to change things: “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. "
As Lewis points out, this right to vote can be limited or, in the worst cases, withdrawn. To be sure to preserve it, you must sometimes have to be indignant and protest, not to hesitate to place yourself in a difficult situation to make things happen. This is what he called "getting in good trouble".
NB. This content was first published by me 