[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 132 (Monday, July 27, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H3862-H3863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE PASSING OF MY FRIEND JOHN LEWIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Fudge) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writes in part:
     Life is real!
     Life is earnest!
     And the grave is not its goal;
     Dust thou art to dust returneth,
     Was not spoken of the soul.
  John still lives in most of us because his soul, his spirit, and his 
heart still live.
  Mr. Speaker, like all Americans, I reacted with deep sadness to the 
passing of my friend, Congressman John Lewis. John and I served 
together for 12 years in Congress, and I was so proud to have known him 
as a colleague, a mentor, and a friend.
  A lot has been said about the man that John Lewis was, but what 
strikes me the most is the man that he never became.

[[Page H3863]]

  For a person who faced virulent hatred, he was never a man who hated.
  For a person who stood as a focal point for an entire movement, he 
never focused the lens on himself.
  For a person born to segregation, he never excluded others from the 
movement for equal rights.
  For a person whose voice pierced the air like a foghorn, he never 
spoke empty words.
  For a person to whom grace was too rarely extended in his life, he 
never allowed himself to withhold it from those around him.
  For a person who was at the center of the Nation's gravest affairs, 
he never passed up an opportunity to laugh or to dance.
  From his refusals, he became the man whom we admire so profoundly. 
John's death comes at a turbulent time for our country, and his loss is 
sharply felt by the many who still fight for equality in our country.
  Young Black Americans struggling for equal treatment, women fighting 
for equal pay, LGBTQ advocates pushing for equal protection, 
marginalized people striving to protect their right to vote, and young 
leaders yearning for equity in a nation that has denied it for too long 
saw in John a model for perseverance, humility, courage, and 
leadership.
  We could not be forgiven for despairing the loss of such a man as 
John Lewis in these times. But I think John would tell us to do 
otherwise. I think he might say that the movement for equality and 
equity in our Nation did not start with him and it shouldn't die with 
him.
  He might look around at the newest generation of remarkable young 
Black and Brown leaders in technology, social justice, business, 
education, public service, and every other walk of American life and 
feel confident that, while the work remains, the fight is in good and 
capable hands.
  He, undoubtedly, would look at the progress we have made and the 
struggles ahead and tell us not to dwell too long on the passing of one 
leader, however impactful, because there is just too much work to do.
  But that is hard. It is hard for me, and I imagine it is hard for 
you. Congressman John Robert Lewis was more than an icon; he was a real 
person, perfect in his imperfections, and I will miss him dearly.

                          ____________________