[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 127 (Monday, July 20, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H3098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I have walked with   John Lewis at least 15 
times across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where, with courage and 
commitment, he made a seminal difference in the life of our country.
  Many of us walked with him. As we followed in   John Lewis' 
footsteps, I suspect my colleagues saw, as I did, that the man we knew 
to be a veteran legislator and a person of wisdom and experience still 
carried in his heart the same energy, optimism, and determined spirit 
that he bore in his youth.
  John never stopped being the young man who dreamed of change and knew 
it could be achieved. In that springtime Alabama Sun, he beamed with a 
passion for justice and shone that light back on all of us who marched 
with him.
  Even at 80, John Robert Lewis had the heart and fiery soul of a young 
protestor for a righteous cause, an organizer for the community and the 
country he served.
  Every day of his life, John marched for justice, civil rights, peace, 
and equality. On every step of his journey, he brought all of us and 
this country he loved with him.
  On Friday, John's march on Earth came to an end, and he was revered 
as a good and faithful servant. Now, Mr. Speaker, he rests in the bosom 
of God.
  He made sure that we know the way forward:
  Toward racial justice;
  Toward communities safer from gun violence;
  Toward a cleaner and healthier planet;
  Toward an America where everyone can access quality, affordable 
healthcare and where no child goes to bed hungry;
  Toward a world where peace and plenty replace conflict and scarcity;
  And toward an America whose people heed Dr. King's call to sit 
together at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a long way to go on that march. But if we 
continue to walk in   John Lewis' footsteps, we will make it. He would 
say we must make it.
  Our struggle to realize the beloved community was his vision and our 
mission. Surely, he will be with us as we continue that mission of the 
movement.
  Where he was the veteran at our side, now John will be the wind at 
our backs and, as the song says, beneath our wings. With his guidance 
and inspiration, we can, as he did, walk with the wind as we march on 
towards justice, equality, and peace until victory is won.
  He was our inspiration; he was our guide; he was our friend; he was 
our colleague. As I said on Saturday morning, there is a hole in the 
heart of America.

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