John Lewis being beaten by an Alabama State Trooper at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL
John Lewis’ last public appearance at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC
Saturday, July 17 marked the one year anniversary of the death of John Lewis. At the time of his death, media sources throughout the country and around the world gave much deserved attention to his decades long commitment to faith based nonviolent direct action for racial justice. From his first nonviolent direct action as part of the student led lunch counter sit-ins of 1960, through the rest of the modern civil rights era including Bloody Sunday in Selma, AL, through his years as a Congressman from Georgia, to his presence at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC just days before his death, John Lewis embodied the essential connection between Christian discipleship and racial justice. He called us to be grateful for the progress made through the sacrifice of so many over the years while at the same time calling us to continue the journey toward full equality and justice for all. One year after the death of John Lewis, our nation continues to struggle with the ongoing impacts of systemic racism in general and attempts to suppress the right to vote of people of color in particular. I invite you to take a few minutes to view the two videos posted below. The first one comes from three years ago in which John Lewis pleads for the protection of voting rights for all. The second comes from just a month ago and lifts up attempts at voter suppression today while calling for passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. At a time when lies about voter fraud have resulted in unnecessary and unjust voter suppression laws in many states, support for voting rights legislation that bears the name of John Lewis is a fitting way to honor his witness and legacy one year after his death. John Lewis’ commitment and sacrifices for justice were not about partisan politics. Rather they were rooted in his deep faith that all people are made in the image of God and deserve equal justice. The life and witness of John Lewis provides a living legacy of what it means to see justice as an essential aspect of Christian discipleship.