“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not a struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get into good trouble, necessary trouble.”
— John Lewis (1940-2020)
The legacy of John Lewis.
John Lewis was a lifelong activist and towering figure of the civil rights movement. From an early age, Lewis was integral in organizing sit-ins at segregated diners. It was from here that he created the mantra of “good trouble, necessary trouble.” Lewis was also one of the original “Freedom Riders” and part of the “Big Six” that organized the March on Washington in 1963.
It was on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in two years later where Lewis cemented his legacy. While crossing the bridge to protest voting discrimination, Lewis was brutally beaten by police. The horrors of that day became known as “Bloody Sunday” and is what finally convinced a nation that there needed to be change. And with that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was swiftly passed.
Lewis was elected into congress in 1986 as the representative of Georgia were he served seventeen terms. During that time, Lewis became known by his colleagues as the “Conscience of Congress” as he continued his fight for racial justice.
When the Black Lives Matter protest erupted across the country in the summer of 2020 following the killing of George Floyd, John Lewis proudly saw a new generation revive his lifetime of work.