[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 133 (Tuesday, July 28, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4539]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REMEMBERING JOHN LEWIS

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Madam President, today I rise to honor a leader, a 
fighter, and a hero: Congressman John Lewis.
  A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to travel to Selma, AL, with 
Congressman Lewis to commemorate ``Bloody Sunday,'' when the then 25-
year-old activist helped to lead 600 people across the Edmund Pettus 
Bridge.
  At the end of the bridge, the marchers were attacked with billy clubs 
and tear gas. Congressman Lewis's skull was fractured. He bore the 
scars until the day he died.
  And that weekend, 48 years later, the White police chief of 
Montgomery handed his police badge to Congressman Lewis and publicly 
apologized for the police not protecting him and the Freedom Marchers.
  Forty-eight years is a long time for an apology, and it only happened 
because Congressman Lewis never quit fighting for progress, for civil 
rights, for economic justice, and for voting rights for every single 
American.
  It was because of that spirit of persistence and resilience that I 
will always be in awe of Congressman John Lewis.
  He never lost his faith that this country could be better, if only we 
put in the work. He never gave up on justice. He never stopped marching 
toward freedom.
  John Lewis was born to sharecroppers in the Jim Crow South and 
dedicated his life to the civil rights movement.
  As one of the original 13 Freedom Riders, he took on segregation. 
Despite being met by angry mobs, beatings, and arrests, Congressman 
Lewis didn't give up.
  Wise beyond his years, he was the youngest speaker at the 1963 March 
on Washington, which he also helped to organize. His words from that 
day have become a rallying cry for all those seeking equality. As 
Congressman Lewis explained, ``To those who have said, `Be patient and 
wait,' we must say that we cannot be patient. We do not want our 
freedom gradually but we want to be free now.''
  In 1964, he coordinated efforts for the ``Mississippi Freedom 
Summer,'' recruiting college students from around the country, 
including Minnesota, to join the movement to register Black voters 
across the South.
  And still, he was far from done. In 1986, Congressman Lewis became 
the second African-American to be elected to Congress from Georgia 
since Reconstruction, propelled by the same Black voters he had helped 
to empower and mobilize.
  Once in Congress, John Lewis never stopped fighting, for voting 
rights, for basic human rights like healthcare, and for a more just and 
equal America.
  There are so many reasons that we will miss him dearly, his 
unwavering persistence being just one. But now, it is up to us. To 
honor his life and carry on his legacy, we must not quit. So let's pass 
the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and let's all try and get 
in some good trouble

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