Passing the Voting Rights Act and renaming the Pettus Bridge are two ways to honor Rep. John Lewis, writes Donna Brazile for usatodayopinion
In Washington, there are two sentences that are said as if they were one sentence, said in one breath: “So and so died? Who’s replacing him?” No one will ask that about Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. He is irreplaceable.
I studied the history of the march when I worked on that anniversary, and I admired how Lewis fought to keep his remarks as strong and real as possible because he was committed to speaking from his heart, the way, I was to find, that he always did. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, John Lewis stayed in the fight when so many others went on to do other things. It was clear to me, even as a 23-year-old, that John Lewis saw so much still worth fighting for.
He wanted to stay in touch with what the young people were doing, and mentor those he thought had promise. He kept reminding us to get into “good trouble” to complete the work of his generation. He never left that work for others to do; he was always willing to do it himself. I knew as a young organizer that if I could get John Lewis to support my cause, I had gotten a giant and I’d get more attention.
What he meant by “good trouble” was standing up to injustice in a way that drew attention, and created change. In a note to his 16-year-old self, written in 2017, Lewis told that boy, “I say to you now, when you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have aHis leadership was forged by marches in our streets, baptized with his own blood, tempered by training in nonviolent resistance.
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