[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 127 (Monday, July 20, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H3096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    COMMEMORATING THE LIFE AND WORK OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN ROBERT LEWIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life 
and work of our dear friend and colleague, Congressman John Robert 
Lewis.
  I appreciate the words of Congressman Al Green just a moment ago, and 
I want to associate myself with his remarks.
  Mr. Speaker,   John Lewis came to this body in 1987. He came with 
scars from a turbulent period of American history.
  It was   John Lewis who led the voting rights movement in the South. 
We refer to it as the Selma to Montgomery march. Some refer to it as 
Bloody Sunday.
  Many Americans don't realize that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did 
not include a provision for voting. Voting was left out of that 
legislation, and because of that, the African-American community was 
determined to get voting rights.
  After Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, he visited the 
White House to have a conversation with President Lyndon Johnson. He 
asked Lyndon Johnson for a Voting Rights Act. It was there that 
President Johnson challenged Dr. King to go back to the South and 
demand a Voting Rights Act; and, because of that, the voting rights 
movement began in Selma, Alabama, and it was   John Lewis who led that 
movement.
  Leaving Brown Chapel Church on March 7 of 1965,   John Lewis led the 
Selma to Montgomery march, demanding a Voting Rights Act and the right 
to vote.
  At the apex of the Edmund Pettus Bridge,   John Lewis and the other 
foot soldiers encountered 150 State troopers and a mob waiting for 
them.   John Lewis instructed the marchers to get on their knees and 
pray. They were beaten, and they were beaten severely.
  They returned to Brown Chapel Church and, 3 weeks later, returned for 
the continuation of their march. By the time they got to Montgomery, 
there were 50,000 people in the march.
  Because of this movement, Mr. Speaker, President Lyndon Johnson led 
an extraordinary effort to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which 
protects the right to vote. The VRA has enabled millions of African 
Americans to register, which has enabled many of the Congressional 
Black Caucus to be elected and reelected.
  I might say that today is the 16th anniversary of my election to 
Congress in a special election.
  I had the privilege of talking with Congressman Lewis nearly every 
legislative day for the past 15 years. We spent countless hours on this 
floor seated to my left talking about his upbringing in Troy, Alabama, 
how African Americans seeking the right to vote had to count marbles in 
a jar and bubbles in a bar of soap. We talked about his first meeting 
with Martin Luther King, Jr., and how Dr. King would lovingly refer to 
him as John Robert.
  As we would walk across the Capitol plaza and walk through airports 
both in this country and other countries, never did he fail to stop and 
to greet other people and to take very quick pictures. His courtesy to 
our Capitol staff was unmatched, and they will tell you so.
    John Lewis served in this body with courage and conviction. It is 
often said that the Congressional Black Caucus is the conscience of the 
Congress. Well,   John Lewis was also the conscience of the Congress.
  I recall, Mr. Speaker, the contentious Affordable Care Act debate in 
2010. As we left the Capitol that day, there was a confrontational 
gathering of the Tea Party on the steps of the Capitol. We were advised 
by the Capitol Police and even by our staffs to return to our offices 
through the tunnel. It was Congressman Lewis and Congressman Cleaver 
and Congressman Carson and myself who defied the Capitol Police, and we 
walked through that mob back to our offices. I remember that so well.

  We would fuss from time to time, Mr. Speaker, and I think you may 
have overheard some of our conversations from time to time. We would 
fuss with John Lewis about his grueling schedule, his travels to the 
West Coast on the weekends and back here to Washington on Monday. He 
would tell us about how he would get to his home here in Washington and 
fall asleep on the couch with his shoes on and wake up at 3 o'clock in 
the morning.
  When we suggested he might consider retirement, he would tell us: I 
have got to keep going. I want to see the African-American museum. I 
want to see the update of the Voting Rights Act. I want to see the end 
of police misconduct.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, at the invitation of President Obama, 
Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Congressman John Lewis, and I were invited 
to the White House for a viewing of the movie ``Selma.'' After viewing 
the movie, the President invited us, along with Oprah Winfrey and the 
cast of the movie, to the Oval Office for a very delightful visit. 
While there, President Obama said: John, do you remember you gave me a 
magazine with your picture when I was first elected to the Senate? 
Well, let me show you.
  He took us into a hallway off of the Oval Office, and there hung the 
magazine with John Lewis' picture on it.
  John Robert Lewis, Mr. Speaker, now belongs to the ages. John Robert 
Lewis now belongs to the ages. He helped make this world a better 
place. John would say to us today, ``The struggle continues.''

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