On July 18, over 1600 protests were held nationwide to honor the 5th anniversary of John Lewis’ passing. They ranged from large protests in New York city to standouts held in smaller towns – many of them in red and rural areas. It is amazing that so many people turned out on a hot Thursday night. This is important. Protests against the Trump regime are now normal, dare I say expected, which should help attract more and more people to the movement.
Are we done? No, of course not. In Heather Cox Richardson’s July 17 Letters from an American, she told the amazing story of John Lewis, an ordinary person, called to DO SOMETHING TO RIGHT A WRONG.
Before Representative Lewis died, reporter Jonathan Capehart asked him “what he would say to people who feel as though they have already been giving it their all but nothing seems to change.” Lewis answered: “You must be able and prepared to give until you cannot give any more. We must use our time and our space on this little planet that we call Earth to make a lasting contribution, to leave it a little better than we found it, and now that need is greater than ever before.”
“Do not get lost in a sea of despair,” Lewis tweeted almost exactly a year before his death. “Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way.”
“My philosophy is very simple,” Representative Lewis once told an audience. “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, say something! Do something! Get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble.”
What is your next step? Will you attend a One Million Rising Training? Protest ICE? Organize an event?
Together we will prevail!