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John Lewis At March On Washington: Im Not Going To Stand By And Let The Supreme Court Take The Right To Vote Away from Ushttp://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/08/24/2523101/john-lewis-march-washington-going-stand-let-supreme-court-vote/
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) who was the youngest speaker during the March on Washington in 1963 delivered a passionate address about the importance of protecting voting rights at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial fifty years later, as thousands gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the historic event on Saturday.
When I stood here 50 years ago, I said one man, one vote is the African cry. It is ours, too. it must be ours, he began, before connecting the demands of 1963 to todays struggles. Almost 50 years ago, I gave a little blood on that bridge in Selma, Alabama, for the right to vote. I am not going to stand by and let the Supreme Court take the right to vote away from us!
LEWIS: You cannot stand by. You cannot sit down. You have to stand up, speak up, speak out and get in the way. Make some noise. The vote is precious. It is almost sacred. Its the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society and weve got to use it. Back in 1963 we didnt have a cellular telephone, iPad, iPod, but we used what we had to bring about a non-violent revolution. And I said to all of the young people, you must get out there and push and pull and make America what America should be for all of us. We must say to the Congress, Fix the Voting Rights Act
(snip)
So hang in there, keep the faith, Lewis extolled. I got arrested 40 times during the 60s, beaten, bloodied and unconscious. Im not tired, Im not weary. Im not prepared to sit down and give up. I am ready to fight and continue to fight, and you must fight.
Watch it:
madamesilverspurs
(15,806 posts)LongTomH
(8,636 posts)etherealtruth
(22,165 posts)This is too important to let sink
pnwmom
(108,994 posts)mountain grammy
(26,648 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)The Second Stone
(2,900 posts)and we should spend a lot of our efforts making sure everyone is registered.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)I love him.
BlueDemKev
(3,003 posts)John Lewis is living proof there are still some sane people left in my state!
perdita9
(1,144 posts)...one he richly deserved.
Peacetrain
(22,878 posts)you have lived an amazing life.
And we still look to you for guidance after all these years..
BumRushDaShow
(129,450 posts)Rep. Lewis was fired up! Even more than he was 50 years ago.
classof56
(5,376 posts)Not surprised at his words, but it's hard to explain how he made me feel. Such courage and conviction and commitment are incredible and I hope, not as rare as they sometimes seem. What I took away was this, as others have mentioned: If we lose our right to vote, we lose it all--our freedom, our democracy, our future. I know there are many other issues to concern and compel us to fight, but the foundation of our republic is the right to vote. Shame on those who do not use that right and even bigger shame on those who would take it away from us.
Let us not back off from the fight and as Rep. Lewis said, keep the faith! Too many have shed blood and died so that we can all vote. Fight on!
Cha
(297,655 posts)hopemountain
(3,919 posts)thank you, John Lewis, a true american patriot of freedom.
lamp_shade
(14,841 posts)RainDog
(28,784 posts)Beacool
(30,251 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)gopiscrap
(23,765 posts)what a wonderful man!