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Here are some ways I think we can honor John Lewis (spoiler: this will take more than one day).
1. Hold Black elected officials accountable for claiming the skin, but betraying the people. John Lewis won and kept his seat on his record. Black leaders who continue to support and invoke policing for social control and to protect white supremacy HAVE TO GO.
2. Pressure your Senators to put the teeth back in the Voting Rights Act, as the gutting of this was a blow to John Lewis’ work and legacy and the restoration of it a priority for him. (House already voted on this in Dec.)
3. Read the original version of John Lewis’ speech at the March on Washington, esp that part about holding Kennedy responsible for not addressing police brutality. https://www.theweek.com/speedreads/926376/read-unedited-version-23yearold-john-lewis-march-washington-speech
4. Acknowledge repeatedly as John Lewis did that each generation has to find its own way to fight for freedom and justice. Honor young people.
5. When showing up, show up to teach and inspire, telling our own stories, not someone else’s.
6. Work to abolish THE SAME police system that repeatedly attacked John Lewis’ mind and body to defend white supremacy. Lewis, along w/ many others in CORE + SNCC, was surveilled by fed and local agents. And yes, he was also physically beaten by police time and again.
7. Work to abolish the prison system (extension of #6) that denied John Lewis due process, incarcerated him, and kept many of his comrades as political prisoners for years.
8. Read his memoir Walking With the Wind or watch
@JohnLewisDoc so you know something more about John Lewis than what is shared today in blurbs. To honor him is to understand his lifelong activism, anchored in integrity, an articulated philosophy, and I do believe, love.
@JohnLewisDoc so you know something more about John Lewis than what is shared today in blurbs. To honor him is to understand his lifelong activism, anchored in integrity, an articulated philosophy, and I do believe, love.
