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Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation

posted on July 30, 2020

For The New York Times, Rep. John Lewis wrote an opinion piece shortly before his death, and it was to be published on the day of his funeral. He writes to the people continuing his civil rights work. “That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington,” he writes, “though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.” He writes of listening to Martin Luther King’s call to nonviolent activism when he was a young person. He writes, “Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.”

Read at The New York Times