[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 157 (Friday, September 11, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM COOPER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 11, 2020

  Mr. COOPER. Madam Speaker, it has come to my attention my full 
statement honoring my late friend and colleague John Lewis, was not 
included in the Record on July 22, 2020; only my brief remarks on the 
House floor were recorded. I am resubmitting below my full statement 
that I prepared for delivery so it may be properly reflected in the 
Record:

       No one loved Nashville as much as John Lewis. The self-
     described `boy from Troy' Alabama arrived in Nashville on a 
     bus, with a ticket purchased by the Rev. Martin Luther King, 
     Jr. Dr. King wanted John to study at American Baptist 
     College, one of Nashville's four legendary HBCUs. For anyone 
     wondering how to honor the legacy of John Lewis, think of his 
     alma mater, American Baptist, or the other justly-famous 
     Nashville HBCU he later attended, Fisk University. If you 
     want more John Lewis's in our world, those were his beloved 
     training grounds.
       John loved reminiscing about Nashville. Once, when John was 
     trying to integrate the Krystal restaurant on West End, the 
     manager panicked and locked John inside alone. The fire-
     suppression system was turned on, filling the building with 
     gas. John could have suffocated but he somehow managed to 
     escape unharmed. Yet he never hated the manager whose panic 
     could have killed him. He understood the man's fear and tried 
     to ease his fear.
       John loved learning non-violence from Dr. James Lawson who 
     led seminars, including at the Highlander Folk School, about 
     how to resist the overwhelming urge to fight back during 
     protests despite the taunts, the insults, the cigarette 
     burns, the physical blows, and even the broken bones. They 
     practiced hurting each other so they knew they were battle-
     hardened. The young activists knew the danger. They made out 
     their wills before joining the Freedom Rides.
       As congressman, John was always kind to meet with visitors, 
     interns and staffers from Nashville, and even individual 
     families, who wanted a moment with the great man, the 
     historic figure, the living saint. After the meeting, they 
     were starry-eyed, often crying from the intensity and purity 
     of the encounter. John also accepted as many invitations as 
     he could to speak in Nashville, once bringing the Faith & 
     Politics pilgrimage to Nashville.
       John made history again with his anti-gun-violence protest 
     on the floor of this House in 2016. We on the Democratic side 
     were honored to follow his leadership, his empathy for 
     victims, his impatience with injustice, and his moral 
     courage. His friends across the aisle could not quite 
     comprehend his motivation or his actions, but he forgave them 
     anyway.
       Nashville's current District Attorney, Glenn Funk, 
     contacted me a few months ago to ask John how he would like 
     his Nashville arrest records handled: expungement, apology, 
     or even, it sounded like, a ticker-tape parade. Much like 
     when I personally witnessed Montgomery's police chief 
     officially apologize to John for his treatment at the hands 
     of local authorities, I was happy that John was finally being 
     recognized by Nashville, the city he loved, for causing Good 
     Trouble, only Good Trouble, just the way his mother preferred 
     it, if he had to get in trouble at all. I believe that John 
     was called by God to get in Good Trouble and I am thankful 
     that he accepted that call, for the sake of us all.

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