Yearold kid entered through a lifetime to keep moving. Keep moving in the right direction keep bringing other people to move and to do it without hatred in his heart to sing and dance. As his brother freddie said introit keep moving to the ballot box even if it is a mailbox. Keep moving to the beloved committee. John lewis was many things. But, he was a man, a friend and sunshine in a storm and a friend would walk a stony road that he asked you to argue would brave the rods he asked you to be whipped by keeping his eyes on the prize and believing, none of us will be free until all of us are equal. I loved him. I always will. I am so grateful, that he stayed true to form. He left us with marching orders. I suggest, since he is close enough that the god to keep his eye on the sparrow and us, we salute march on. It is an honor to be here. Thank you for enabling us all to be here. To honor and celebrate the life of john lewis. With three president s of the United States. President clinton, president bush and sin, president former president barack obama president and i am pleased to bring greek teens and to bring condolences to the family, to john, myles and the entire lewis family, thank you, for sharing, john lewis, with us. I am pleased to be here with so many members, we would have had more except the coronavirus prevented but, i hope they will all stand, members of the house of representatives. Senator harris and booker and senators harris and booker. Among them, mr. Hoyer and we served with john lewis for over 30 years. Over 30 years. And in our group we have senior members and members of our freshman class, john convinced each one of us we were his best friends and we come with the flag flown over the capitol, the light he passed the flag there and said goodbye. It waved goodbye to john. Our friend, a mentor our colleague, this beautiful man we all had the privilege of serving with in the congress of the United States. So again we bring our condolences to the family and to Michael Collins and his staff who meant so much to him thank you for your service to john lewis. There are many things right grup with john, even as he passed from selma to montgomery to washington and now to atlanta. He will be at rest. When he served with us he wanted us to see, the Civil Rights Movement through his eyes. He told us so many stories. He taught us so much. He took us to selma for two decades, mr. President he took us to selma. President bush was and president obama. And he wanted us to see, how important it was, how important it was, to understand the spirit of nonviolence. I hesitate to speak about non violence in the present of the master himself will hear from reverend lawson, shortly we were together recently in selma when they spoke at church. He taught the world about nonviolence to say this. The word in sanskrit means two things. It means nonviolence and it means insistence on the truth. And of that is what john lewis was all about. Insisting on the truth and nonviolence. In washington and Lincoln Memorial he insisted on the truth wherever he went. He insisted on the truth and the congress of the United States, every time he stood up to speak. We knew, he was going to take us to a higher place of our understanding of what our responsibilities were and opportunities and he insisted, no matter how offended someone might be. He would insist on the truth. What he said, he said in my life, ive done all i can to demonstrate, the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence, is the more excellent way. Now it is returned, he says, let freedom ring. He always talked about truth marching on. He always worked for a more perfect union. Over the fourth of july weekend, i had the privilege of visiting with john. I brought him this flag pin that i wear. Why i did so, on that fourth of july weekend, was because it is engraved with something that says, one country, one got any. One destiny. One country, one destiny. I mentioned it, because this was embroidered into the lining of Abraham Lincoln the coat that he had on. I think he had the cone on on the time. John lewis and Abraham Lincoln had so much in common. I got to know john in front of the Lincoln Memorial when he made that beautiful, beautiful speeds. Speech. John lai and state under the dome of the capitol. On a platform that was made in 1865. It was to hold the casket of Abraham Lincoln. Abraham lincoln. John lewis. John lewis, they have had a lot of connections. By the way, incidentally, they were both wonderful and spiritual and they were both very good politicians. Think of john lewis that way. Those of you who know him know that. He was always about a more perfect union. And he was always about young people. That is why that article you referenced in the New York Times today, his message that would be delivered at this time she left us, was about young people. He says to them together you can redeem the world together. Always. Together. One destiny. And he said in the article answer the highest calling of your heart. Stand up for what you truly believe in. Its like just like john . We were very proud to have his voice in the rotunda speaking about already cared about and believed in in such a beautiful way. Starting in troy. I started my remarks talking about the flag. It waved over the capital. I said goodbye to john. What i want you to know, in addition to how revered hearings in congress, so revered, he was mischievous. You know, he would say make good trouble. He had a twinkle in his eye and a spark about it all. My colleagues will tell you, when he cooked up having a sit in to get the Republican Leadership to put the gun violence prevention bill on the floor, when he did that, members followed him. Or moment we thought police might was disruptive. My think it was good trouble. It was clear to them, if they were to arrest john lewis for the doing that, they would have to arrest the entire House Democratic caucus. When he spoke, people listened when he led, people followed. We loved him, very much. As his official family, we mourn them greatly. He shared so much. His family, his love for his family and the sadness, when lillian was sick the joy he had and as i said, we waved goodbye to this person our leader our friend and shall we say, humorous. He loved to dance. He loved to make us laugh sometime while he was dancing. He said, my granddaughter, said did you sing in the Civil Rights Movement . They did ask me to sing solo one time. So low that nobody could hear me. Anyway, getting back to the flag waving goodbye, to this person i loved in every way politically, too. Last night he was at the capital. It was not raining. Thousands of people showing up, to pay respect. A little bit after 8 00, there was a double rainbow. A double rainbow. It had not rained. But there was a double rainbow over the casket. For us, we waved goodbye. He was telling us, he was telling us, i am home, in heaven. I am home in heaven. We always knew he worked on the side of the angels. Now he is with them. He rats in peace. Thank you. He rests in peace. Thank you. [ applause ] sisters and brothers, members of the lewis family, that so wonderfully nurtured john, and in love and courage and faith. Sisters and brothers, a polish catholic poet, sets the tonejohn lewis has journeye from the eternity of this extraordinary, mysterious human race coming into the eternity that none of us know very much about. When he wrote this poem called meaning,. When i die, i will see the lining of the world. The other side beyond Bird Mountain sunset. The true meaning waiting to be decoded what never added up, without add up. What was incomprehensible will become underhanded. And if there is no lining to the world, if a thrush on a branch is not a sign but just a thrush on a branch, if night and day make no sense following each other and on this earth there is nothing but earth, even if that is so, there will remain a word wakened by lips that paris a tireless messenger who runs and runs to interstellar places. The revolving galaxies that protests and screams. I submit with john and that of eternity will be heard by us, again and and again. Writing to the galaxies still proclaiming, we the people of the usa still can one day live up to the full meaning we hold these truths. Live up to the full meaning we the people of the usa perfect the more perfect union. John lewis practiced not the politics, that we call bipartisan, john lewis practiced the politics we the people of the u. S. Need more desperately than ever before. The politics of the declaration of independence. The politics of the preamble to the constitution of the United States. I have read many of the so called civil rights books between 1953 and 1973. Most of the books are wrong about john lewis. Most of the books are on about how john got engaged in the National Campaign in 1959. This is the 60th year of the campaign, which swept into every state of the union. Largely manned by students because we recruited students. But put it on the map at the nonviolent struggle begun in montgomery, alabama. It was not an accident. As martin king jr. Called it, christian love has power, that we have never capped. If we use it, we can transform not only our own lives but we will transform the earth in which we live. I call it providential. I dropped out of graduate school and moved to tennessee. Andrew white, jean etta hayes. Helen roberts, dolores wilkerson. John lewis. Diana nash. Jim bevil, angela butler, paulina knight. How all of us gathered, in 1958 and 1959 and 1961 and in 1962 in the same city at the same time. I count that as providential. We did not plan it. And we were led there. And when kelly lewis and the console met, in the fall of 1958, and to be a second Major Campaign, that will demonstrate the efficacy of soul force and a love truth, that we would do it in nashville. And so are plan as the strategist and organizer we did create the campaign. We decided with great fear, and anticipation, we would desegregate downtown nashville. No group of black people or other people, anywhere in the United States in the 20th century against the rapacious this ever thought about, desegregating downtown. Tearing down the signs. Renovating the waiting rooms. Taken the immoral signs off of made that decision for us, in nashville. I was scared to death, when we made that decision. I knew nothing about how we were going to do this. Id never done it before. But we planned the strategy. John lewis did not stumble on the campaign. Kelly lewis smith, his teacher at abc invited john, to join the workshops, in the following 259, as we prepared ourselves to face violence. We put on the map, the issue that the racism and segregation, of the nation had to end. And so in anniversary which began the second Major Campaign of the Nonviolent Movement of america, those are not my words. John lewis called what we did between 1953 and 1973, the Non Violent Movement of america. Not the crm. We need to get the story straight. Words are powerful. History must be written in such a fashion that it lifts up truly the spirit of the john lewiss of the world. That is why i have chosen to say a few words about. I had a student tell me about a student from chicago. They wanted to do something about those vicious signs. I said, invite diane nash to the workshop in september. Because we will do something about those signs. I pushed this hard. Now, john lewis had no choice in the matter. You should understand that. Because of the stories we heard this morning, about john becoming a preacher, preaching to the chickens and become an ordained as a baptist minister, Something Else was happening with john. John saw the malignancy of in troy, alabama. There formed in him a sensibility that he had to do something about it. He did not know what that was. But, he was convinced he was called indeed, to do whatever he could do. Get in good trouble, but stop the horror that so many folks lived through and in this country that part of the 20th century. John was not alone martin king have the same experience. I had the same experience from age 4 in the streets ohio. Matthew whose name you dont know in south carolina, had the same experience. Vivian have the same experience. I maintain, that many of us had no choice to do, but we tried to do primarily, because at an early age we recognize the wrong under which we were forced to live. We swore that god by gods grace, we would do whatever god told us to do in order to put on the table the nations agenda. This must end. Black lives matter. And so between 1953 and 1973, we had Major Campaigns year after year thousands of demonstrations across the nation that supported it. Weird folk and the congress. When folk in the white house. Folks scattered across the United States, beginning to formulate what the solutions are for change. The media makes a mistake when he is only seen in relation to the Voting Rights of 65. However important it is you must remember, in the 60s, Lyndon Johnson was in congress and he passed the most advanced legislation on behalf of of we the people of the United States that was ever passed. Billions of dollars for housing we would not be in the struggle we are today, if president reagan had kept that , where local churches and nonprofits could build affordable housing, in their own communities. Sustained finance from loans by the central government. We pass medicare. We passed antipoverty programs. Civil rights bill 64, 65 the Voting Rights bill. A whole array, john lewis, must be understood, as one of the leaders of the greatest advance of congress in the white house on behalf of we the people of the usa. We do not need bipartisan politics if we celebrate the life of john lewis . We need the constitution to come alive we hold these truths to be selfevident we need the congress and president s to work unfaltering, on behalf of every boy and every girl until every baby born of the shorts have access to the tree of life that is the only way , to honor John Robert Lewis no other way let all of us here today, let all the people of the usa determine that we will not be quiet, as long as any child dies in the first year of life, in the United States. We will not be quiet, as long the nation are women and children. We will not be quiet, as long as our nation continues to be the most violent culture in the history of humankind we will not be quiet, as long as our economy is shaped not by freedom, but by plantation capitalism, that continues to cause domination and control, rather than access and liberty and equality, for all the forces of spiritual wickedness are strong here because of our history. We have not created them. John lewis did not create them. We inured them. We inherited them. Its our test to see them. I named them, sexism, violence, plantation capitalism racism. The poisons dominate many of us , in many different ways. Johns life was a singular journey from birth through the campaigns in the south, through congress. To get us to see, that these forces of wickedness, must be resisted. Do not let our own hearts drink any of that poison. Instead, drink the truth of the life force. Before you celebrate and honor john lewis sees life recannot reconnect our holes and strengths, to the continuing journey to dismantle the wrong in our myths. Allow the space fork of the new heaven to emerge. I close with this poem from langston hughes. It is kind of a sign and symbol of what john lewis represents and what we too can represent in our continuing journey. Langston hughes. I dream a world where no human, no other human was scorned where love will bless the errors and peace adornments. I dream a dream, where all will know sweet freedoms the way. Greed no longer saps the soul, nor avarice like our day. A road i dream were black and white and yellow and blue and green and red and brown whatever your race may be, will share the bounties of the earth. And every woman, man, boy and girl is. Where wretchedness hangs its head like a pearl attends the need of all humankind. Such a world, i dream and celebrate life. Dream and labor for atlanta and los angeles and the United States and the world. That is to celebrate the spirit in the heart and the mind and soul of john lewis. To walk with him through the galaxies. Seeking equality, liberty, justice and community. Thank you. [ applause ] to the friends and family of john lewis, to all gathered today to mourn the loss of one of our nations great leaders. John has been a blessing to countless people. We are proud to be among those to him. His achievements are joined by all americans. We know him as our neighbor, our friend, and representative. Enormous contributions will continue to be an and special for generations to come. Please know you are in our hearts and prayers during this difficult time. We hope your were married memories will be a comfort to you in the days ahead. Sincerely, jimmy carter. [ singing ] i want to first call attention to the excellent job she has done wasnt she tremendous . I have never seen such coverage. John deserved it. I want to talk a moment on john, before he became famous. I met johnna came to atlanta miles and i came to atlanta on the same day. She came to work at the University Atlanta university. I came to work with Martin Luther king jr. We were at the christian Leadership Conference and that is where i met john. I saw him all the time we were involved in the same quest, for equity and justice in america. I saw him all the time. And, i admired his fervor. I admired his tenacity. Lillian was single. And so, i decided that lillian needed a good man. Not just the bums who were approaching her. She was highly intellectual. She was well educated and well traveled. I want her to have someone who really would appreciate skills and her talent. So i looked around, and i decided that i liked john. But lillian did not like john, particularly. She thought he was kind of slow. I said, lillian he is busy. He is fighting the evils of the world. And she said, yes, but i decided, girl, listened as boys going places. Lets see what he can do, to get this thing moving. So we decided, but i did as her friend, that is what you do for friends. To the hospital for an examination. I said, oh lillian, this is a good moment for us to be lawrence nightingale. We bought some flowers. I said, he will be impressed he was a little bit slow, too. I said, will go to the hospital. And that will really impress him. He will notice you more. Because you are bringing him flowers while hes in the hospital. We got in the hospital and there was a woman already there. She was spreading out his love and adjusting his comforter. Will i already ask john, do you have a young woman that you are especially interested in . He said, well not really. I said thats not the answer im looking for. He said what do you expect me to answer . I have some things in mind. John was slow. Not really. I decided on new years eve, lillian was single, as i said. She didnt have plans. Said i am having a dinner party. And i will invite both of them. Maybe that will give us a chance. Lillian thought i was going to have a big party. John thought i was going to have a big party. When they got to my house, there was only room for three of us. The two of them and me. And so now we are discussing the world. Im hoping now they would get closer and closer. Well, when john did not have a date on new years eve i knew he did not have a commitment. Everybody has a date on new years eve with somebody somewhere. John figured i am ahead of the game now. Then things started happening. And slowly not fast enough for me. But i was patient. Finally, lillian said i do like him. I said okay i am ready now. I will set the date. We are going to have a wedding. And so, i asked john, not too long ago did we ever ask you . I dont think i ever got the opportunity to propose we just had a wedding. And so now, it looks like things will be okay. The wedding was still slow. I did all of the planning. All the family and friends came. Now, things were doing okay. She said i dont like the idea of that girl. She has some designs on john. I said honey, dont worry about competition. We can handle competition. We will get rid of that girl so fast, she wont know what happened to her. And we did. And, they got married. Well, i want you to know they were very happy. But, lillian, was welltraveled and welleducated. She did not like politics. She did not like politics. When john expressed an interest she became his strongest supporter. She did everything. Everything. She did everything to make his successes work for him. They did. Then john came along. He was the cutest little boy. They gave me the honor of being his godmother. I said oh, thats nice. What does a godmother do . What am i supposed to do . If something happens to me and john take care of him. Do i feed him . I said do i feed him every day . She said yes. What if he acts up . But john miles stand up, john miles, stand up. That is john miles, now. Now, wait a minute take a good look at john miles. I am almost 90 years old and there he is. I am supposed to spank him what he does not do right. When i walked up to give him a spanking i had to get a chair. I love john miles. I loved him then and i love john miles, now. I will take care of him and spank you, whether you like it, or not. But, lillian and john, stayed married. I put together and it lasted 43 years. That is not a bad record, is it . They were happy and lillian gave him every support and they gave love to john miles in the process. John was an unusual individual. We all loved him all the time. She sincerely was a parent. He said, he was not going to stop. All of you knew him im not going to tell you anything about john. All of you know his fervor you know the love he had for everybody. I want us to look at john we thought we knew, and the john who convinced us we knew the real man, because he was constant. John, what in the world is bad trouble . When i was a young girl my sister, every time we would go on a date my mother said have a good time, but dont get into no trouble. We did not know nothing else except trouble was not good. John said the good trouble is, when your mother says dont get in trouble, find a way to right the wrongs of our society. He did a pretty decent job of that. During this week, john was on television all day, every day. People know i like young people. I was invited to speak to young kids. I said as youre watching television, this is not a Public Relations program that is the story of a man who lived the life we are talking about. John made the decision on the kind of life he was going to live. I said to those young people, you have the responsibility to make your life the meaning you want it to be. You can decide to be a bank robber, or the bank owner. It is your choice. The man you see on television, decided his life will have quality to it. Do as much you can as often as you can. That is what john lewis did. We will not forget john. I want to tell you, do not sit here, and listen to these phrases. Dont forget how wonderful he was. Do something about it. Be kind to everybody. Love everybody. I do not need to tell you. You know what he said. What i want to advise you and promise you, get into the job we love. Vote. Thank you
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