Serving as chair and the student nonviolent cordoning committee. Represents georgias Fifth District. Welcome. I am the president and ceo of s. Capital Historical Society. Welcome pleasure to you here. We are pleased that you are all a re to help pay tribute to real gentleman, congressman john lewis, and his commitment to civil rights. [applause] it is fitting that we honor john lewis on the 50th anniversary of the passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964. John was not a member of at the time he may he was by his actions and those of his influenced greatly the enactment of this historic legislation. House Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy is here tonight. At the him to join me podium. Thank you, ron. It is indeed a great privilege to be here and honor our great friend john lewis. It is wonderful to see so many people turn out. We gather today to honor rep. John lewis. Heres a man of principle. For that reason alone, i can think of no better recipient of the Freedom Award. For over two decades, this those who recognized are uniquely dedicated to freedom and democracy. That freedom can be represented different forms in the voting booth, in classrooms. But however know what each of these pursuits are, the history even is man shows something greater. Fight for freedom, his mission to fulfill the american promise, he faced what few of had to face to enjoy our freedom, fear. We are blessed in this nation to enjoy the privileges of democracy and to exercise our freedom without fear. Thousands of r africanamericans in our been the that has not case. It was once said, the man who by a vote, imself will seldom resort to a musket. Is also true. People whose rights are denied often resort to violence. Chose a different and higher path. He did not take the road of violence and hate. And his, and his generation quest for freedom, he did not corrupt himself. Was the president of the student nonviolent corning committee. He and his leadership fought every person s for not with weapons, but with rhetoric and speech. Jesus teaches us we are to love our neighbor as ourselves and turn the other cheek to those who strike us. In our own lives, how easy it is to preach and practice this when our neighbor is kind and we are struck with words instead of fists. John lewis endured a much harder peace. His enemies had teargas, nightsticks, dogs. He confronted handcuffs, imprisonment, death threats, and fallen brothers. I remember a few years ago, i was walking with john through selma, alabama, on the same path of the march john led. As we were walking towards the pettus bridge, john would point out the different stories of where they were. He looked to an old woolworths. You know what he told me . They would not let me eat at the counter. One time in nashville i went into woolworth and tried to eat at the counter, and i was arrested. We crossed the bridge in peace that day with thousands behind us. But when john led that march across the same bridge in 1965, he was beaten by a mob of state troopers and deputized citizens. He cannot remember who carried him, but he was wounded and bloody. John was taken away to a church with a head injury. They did not know if he would live. As we walked to the bridge, i asked him where the park was where it happened. He said i could not remember from this point on. It is easy to see john showed physical courage. But he has also demonstrated the highest moral courage. Under this onslaught of brutality and uncertainty, john did not match violence with violence. He stood with dr. Martin luther king, jr. , and demanded peace in the face of war, solidarity in the face of division, and love in the face of hate. That was in a time of injustice done against African Americans who felt the american system was lost. They felt it would be easier to tear down the structure of the old. But for all of americas shortcomings, john lewis stood with those demanding the promise of america not be discarded but instead realized in full by being purified in practice. As lewis said to the crowd in 1963 during the march on washington, he wanted the people to protest across the nation. Until true freedom comes, until the revolution of 1776 was complete. The designs and principles of our founders are good, though our nation fell short for far too long. We honor john lewis today, not as a revolutionary, but as one, to paraphrase dr. King, came to cash the check the architects of our republic wrote, the promissory note demanding every american is guaranteed the right of liberty, life, and the pursuit of happiness. John lewis held america to its promise, by doing so he put his life at risk, suffered ridicule and bodily harm. In history, he was vindicated. We honor you today for holding our nation to its highest ideals and ensuring the true existence of liberty and justice for all. It is an honor to be able to serve in these chambers. But i will tell you one of my highest honors is to be able to stand with this man. Thank you for what you have done for this nation. But as a grateful citizen, i thank you for righting the ship at the right time. God bless you. [applause] thank you, kevin mccarthy. There are a number of sitting senators and members of the house here this evening. We are grateful for their presence. One of the people here is Lynda Johnson robb, former first lady of virginia, and her husband, former governor and senator chuck robb. Passage of the Civil Rights Act was one of the highest priorities of her father, president lyndon johnson. We are pleased you could be with us tonight, lynda, and invite you to come up and say a few words about your good friend, john lewis. [applause] i am here really to be part of this cheering squad for john lewis. Whenever daddy needed him, he was there. Daddy would not have been in him these hallowed grounds here to make his important we shall overcome speech if john lewis had not had the courage to go out and cross the bridge, to go out and remind this country what they were doing, bringing it to the forefront. Our family will always treasure the friendship we have. A few years ago, john was the first recipient of the l. B. J. Liberty and justice award. He richly deserved it. Throughout his life, his Public Service life, he has continued to be an advocate for peace, justice, and freedom. With the way things are going now, i salute him for trying to bring for living his faith and starting the faith and Politics Coalition because we all need to be brought together. He has done that across political lines. Sometimes that is not the most popular thing to do either. It is a different bridge to cross but an important one. I want to close with the words of my father. He said, and i think this captures the essence of john lewiss work, our mission is at once the oldest and most basic of this country, to right wrongs, to do justice, and to serve man. Thank you. [applause] thank you very much, lynda. Norman the former member of , congress, former secretary of transportation and recipient of our Freedom Award last year wanted to be here this evening but expressed regrets. Apparently, they are at a funeral. Norm sends his congratulations to congressman lewis and wrote that john lewis is one of his real heroes. It was done in capital letters with three exclamation points, so it was something very serious on norms part. We are grateful for his note as well. Tonight, we honor a great man. John lewis has devoted his entire life to extending the rights and privileges of democracy to all americans. As a civil rights leader and member of congress, he has shaped our concept of freedom and expanded the definition of democracy. We are proud to pay tribute to him this evening. The u. S. Capitol Historical Society initiated the Freedom Award to recognize contributions of individuals and organizations to the cause of freedom. John has devoted his life to that cause. As a young man, he organized sitins, participated in freedom rides, endured physical injuries, and was arrested many times. But did not waiver in his commitment to secure Civil Liberties for all americans. He inspired others to join the civil rights cause with the stirring keynote speech at the 1963 march on washington. He extended the franchise by coordinating Voter Registration drives during the mississippi freedom summer of 1964. John was at the head of the line when the protesters marched across the Edmund Pettis bridge in 1965. Congress and president johnson responded to the actions of john and other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement by passing and signing the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965. By the young age of 25, john had accomplished great things. With these monumental achievements behind him, he turned his attention to strengthening community organizations. President jimmy carter appointed him to an executive position. In 1981, he was elected to the atlanta city council. John was elected to congress in 1986 where he continued his campaign to protect human rights and expand Civil Liberties. He has represented the Fifth District of georgia for 27 years. At the election earlier this month, he ran unopposed. John is the Ranking Member of the committee on oversight, and a member of the ways and means committee, and is part of the House Democratic leadership. He is admired by colleagues on both sides of the aisle for his high ethical and moral standards and society also admires john lewis for these attributes and for his lifetime of work that has transformed our nation and left an enduring legacy for the future. Earlier this year, president barack obama spoke about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, noting 50 years later, few pieces of legislation have defined our National Identity as distinctly or as powerfully. The law transformed the concept of justice, equality, and democracy for generations to come. John, we are proud of your courage, commitment, and your perseverance for the cause of freedom and equality, a cause you pursue with the same conviction now as when you organized those sitins in the 1960s. Please join me at the podium. Ladies and gentlemen, john lewis. [applause] we are presenting to you the u. S. Capitol Freedom Award, which says, if i get the right sheet. Well i managed to lose it. , well, excuse me. To the honorable john lewis, United States house of representatives, in grateful recognition of your lifelong contributions in the congress and community extending the , spirit of freedom, revitalizing our democracy, securing liberties for generations of americans, and leading by example to advance greater understanding of Public Service, freedom, and equality. The United States capitol Historical Society, United States capitol, november, 19, 2014. Congressman lewis, congratulations and thank you. [applause] thank you. Good evening. Good evening thank you, my friend, Lynda Johnson robb, for those beautiful words. Thank you for taking the time to be here, you and chuck. Thank you, ron, my friend, my brother, for this wonderful award dedicated to freedom. I thank all my friends and colleagues from the congress for being here. I know it has been a busy day for many of you, especially on our side and also on the other side. [laughter] it is good to be in statuary hall. When i first came to washington, it was may 1, 1961. 21 years old, had all of my hair. [laughter] and a few pounds lighter. To go on something called the freedom ride, the same year president barack obama was born. To come back here, it is amazing to me. The first time i entered this building, this almost sacred place, the capitol, was on the morning of august 28, 1963. I came here with dr. Martin luther king, jr. , and others. We met with the leadership on both sides of the capital, house leadership, senate leadership, democrats, and republicans. If you have an opportunity to visit my office in the cannon house building, you will see a photograph of that morning with dr. Martin luther king, jr. , roy wilkins, rabbi prince, Eugene Carson blake, britney young, and young john lewis. [laughter] talking with the republican leader. If someone had told me then that one day i would be standing here in statuary hall being honored by the United States capitol Historical Society, i would have told them, youre crazy, youre out of your mind, you dont even know what youre talking about. Each time i come into this place and i have been here a while. I have been in congress for almost 28 years. I feel more than lucky. I feel blessed. Each day i am here, i learn more and more about the significance of this building, the paintings, the statues, the different rooms. Sometimes i feel these statues are speaking to me and saying, john lewis, speak up, speak out. Find a way to get in the way. If it had not been for the spirit of history moving across our land and the involvement of hundreds of thousands and millions of citizens of goodwill, president s, members of congress, i would not be standing here tonight. So i say thank you. The people of this great nation have brought me a mighty long way from the red hills of alabama, from the muddy road where i was born, the son of a sharecropper, picking cotton, gathering peanuts, pulling corn, and preaching to chickens. [laughter] i just want to say thank you. To live in a country, in this beautiful, unbelievable country, where a young black boy can grow up and meet rosa parks and dr. Martin luther king, jr. , and meet every president since president kennedy, only in america. I tell you. I feel more than lucky. I feel blessed and honored. I often tell students here in washington when they come to my office on the steps of the capitol, high school, elementary schools, students all around our country, that during the Civil Rights Movement we did not just wake up one day and decide to march on washington. Or march from selma to montgomery. Or to sit in or go on the freedom rides. We studied the great philosophers and theologians. We studied the dissidents and the philosophy of nonviolence. We studied the works of gandhi. We studied the teaching of dr. Martin luther king, jr. , and we learned from the interpretation of reverend james lawson. We studied civil disobedience, the work of henry david thoreau. In that small discussion, thoreau says something 165 years ago that is so important for the leaders of this nation to remember today. He said there will never be a truly free and enlightened state until that state recognizes or comes to recognize the individual as higher than an independent power from which its own power and authority are derived and treats humans accordingly. To summarize all the arguments made in these chambers of statuary hall or in the House Chamber today, over on the senate side, from the beginning of this nation to this day, most of them revolve around the true meaning of freedom. What is freedom . In my lifetime, there is only one president who understood the divine right of the common man. He was a man who knew how to use his power, ability, and capacity for the good of all people. He had a vision inspired by the activism of ordinary people, to lift people out of tyranny or poverty. He wanted to set all americans on equal footing and he used all of his power to make that happen. His legacy is often overlooked. With very few exceptions, every single american at some point in his or her life as a student, a senior citizen, a preschooler, as a leader of a family, has been a beneficiary of his work. This man from texas, president lyndon johnson, made one of the most powerful statements any american president has ever made, but in modern times especially, about the quest for freedom and the issue of equal justice in the United States. Since one of his daughters is here, i think it is very fitting we take a moment to listen to his words. Lynda, to paraphrase what you already said, but i want to state it again. He said on the night of march 15, 1965, eight days after bloody sunday in selma, he said i speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. At times, history and fate meet in a single place at a single time. Our mission is that once the oldest and most basic of this country to right wrong, to do , justice, to serve man. In our time, we have come to live with moments of great crisis. Our lives have been marked with issues of war and peace, prosperity and depression. But rarely in our time doesnt does an issue lay bare the secret heart of the nation itself. The issue of equal rights for every human being is such an issue. Should we defeat every enemy and double our wealth and conquer the stars, and still be unequal to this issue, then we will have failed as a people and a nation. For what does it profit, what does a nation profit if it should gain the whole world and lose its soul . At the end of the speech, your father used the theme song of the Civil Rights Movement when he said, and we shall overcome. I was sitting in the home of a local family in selma next to dr. Martin luther king, jr. , and Vice President johnson, we listened to him. When he said, and we shall overcome, i looked at dr. King. Tears came down his face. He started crying and i cried, too. He said we will make it from selma to montgomery. The Voting Rights act will be passed. With these words a man you may feel is an unlikely prophet, the search for freedom is at the core of every conflict, it is the foundation of every great speech. It is written on the heart of every man. It calls from the depths of every womans soul. I still believe no matter what the disappointment, the setbacks, or the interruptions, we as a nation and a people are still on the journey down a very long road toward the liberation of all humankind. We are still on the journey begun hundreds of years ago, a march toward justice to redeem , the soul of every nation and until the whole World Community accepts the simple truth. In the final analysis, we are one people, one family, the human family. We all live in one house, the same house, the american house, the world house. So i say to you tonight as i accept this award, we cannot give up. We cannot give in. We cannot give out. We must hold on. And march toward the mark and leave our country a little freer, a little cleaner, and a little greener, and a little more peaceful for generations yet unborn. Thank you so much. [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] in 1972, president johnson addressed a civilrights symposium and declared our objective must be to assure that all americans play by the same rules and all americans play against the same odds. Who among us would claim this is true today . , he said. We proved great progress is possible. We know how much remains to be done. John, you have won our admiration, not just today, but for many days because of your great accomplishments and because you continue to pursue what still remains to be done. In heart and mind, you are truly the embodiment of the u. S. Capitol Historical Societys Freedom Award. Thank you very much for being part of this program this evening and your comments. Just incredible. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our program. Please enjoy the reception. Thank you for helping to make this a very memorable evening. Thank you very much. [applause] join American History tv tonight on the civil war as the historian talks about the life of the irishamerican soldier and his role in the Confederate Army during the battle of franklin, tennessee. To thean burton came United States around 1850 and enlisted in the army where he rose to the rank of general. That is tonight on American History tv. Week, American History brings youamerica archival films that help tell the story of the 20th century. Fidel castro emerged triumphant after two years of guerrilla warfare. The revolution began with castro a fugitive, practically alone with 82 followers, to nearly being wiped out by government forces, ended with the flight of the dictator and the entry of rebel forces into havana to be acclaimed by the city. Movements of castros named for the anniversary of his first attack on the regime in 1953 and grown vastly empowered by captured and surrendered weapons. They culminated in victory as 1958 ended. Castro let it all out government offensive of a counterattack. In the battle for santa clara, won the crucial victory. Battista resigned to prevent more bloodshed and fled the country. His departure touched off wild rejoicing in the capital is the first rebel forces entered havana. At first, the celebration was peaceful as cheering crowds surged through the city. Then the temper changed as they targeted the symbols of the overthrown regime and targeted the homes and businesses of back six years of surplus prosperity and or my collapse and explosive discontent. But he done had fled, a new leader is on the scene. Bill castro, an unknown quantity fidel castro. Certain to be dominant in cubas new era, just begun. On september 1, 9034, tens of thousands of textile more 1934, tens of thousands of textile workers begin the Largest Labor strike in u. S. History. The strike