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Rep. John Lewis: Today It Is Unbelievable That There Are Republican Officials Still Trying to Stop Some People From Voting
By: Pam Spaulding Thursday September 6, 2012 4:15 pm
My dear friends, your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
As Ive written before, the term civil rights covers all social justice issues, and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), an ally to the LGBT community, has literally taken body blows for equality. Today it is almost unthinkable that were talking about the basic right to vote and the incessant attacks on the right to disenfranchise voters they believe will not cast their ballot for Republicans.
Lewis brought this up in a powerful speech at the Dem Convention today. Here are the remarks as prepared for delivery.
I first came to this city in 1961, the year Barack Obama was born. I was one of the 13 original Freedom Riders. We were on a bus ride from Washington to New Orleans trying to test a recent Supreme Court ruling that banned racial discrimination on buses crossing state lines and in the stations that served them. Here in Charlotte, a young African-American rider got off the bus and tried to get a shoe shine in a so-called white waiting room. He was arrested and taken to jail.
On that same day, we continued on to Rock Hill, South Carolina, about 25 miles. From here, when my seatmate, Albert Bigelow, and I tried to enter a white waiting room, we were met by an angry mob that beat us and left us lying in a pool of blood. Some police officers came up and asked us whether we wanted to press charges. We said, No, we come in peace, love and nonviolence. We said our struggle was not against individuals, but against unjust laws and customs. Our goal was true freedom for every American.
Since then, America has made a lot of progress. We are a different society than we were in 1961. And in 2008, we showed the world the true promise of America when we elected President Barack Obama. A few years ago, a man from Rock Hill, inspired by President Obamas election, decided to come forward. He came to my office in Washington and said, I am one of the people who beat you. I want to apologize. Will you forgive me? I said, I accept your apology. He started crying. He gave me a hug. I hugged him back, and we both started crying. This man and I dont want to go back; we want to move forward.
More of John Lewis at:
http://firedoglake.com/