I wrote the following brief essay a few months back. The world is a lesser place following the passing of John Lewis. Although he was diminutive in stature, he was a giant of a man.
“Keep the Faith”
Civil Rights was a popular subject requested by visiting groups during the years I headed up William Penn House, a Quaker-related seminar center on Capitol Hill. A visit to the office of Rep. John Lewis, among other appointments, sometimes was on the agenda.
His courage was unquestioned during those very tense days of the Civil Rights Movement. He was the leader of SNCC, the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee; he is the last person still living who spoke at the 1963 March on Washington, made famous by Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech; he played a huge role in the Freedom Rides; and, he was front and center during the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery that became known as “Bloody Sunday.”
Lewis suffered incredible, life-threatening violence that day and others, was arrested more than 40 times, and is a true American hero. Probably no one imagined that this “dangerous person” one day would become one of the most-respected members of the House of Representatives, referred to by some as the “conscience of Congress.”
I frequently saw Congressman Lewis around Capitol Hill, our paths intersecting as we went about performing our respective duties. The first time was outside the Cannon House Office Building as we waited to cross the street from opposite directions. Before the traffic light changed I spotted him across the way, in a cluster of other pedestrians. We made eye contact during our turn in the crosswalk, and he greeted me as we passed one another.
A memorable visit to his office occurred when a dozen or so high-schoolers from across the U.S., attending the annual WPH-sponsored Quaker Youth Seminar, were treated to Lewis’ personal recollections from Bloody Sunday. He displayed enlarged photos showing the Alabama state troopers on horses running through the peaceful marchers. One picture showed Lewis himself being beaten senseless by a law enforcement officer. Lewis, of course, carried no weapon and made no threats against the officer. He was leading a march.
Congressman Lewis betrayed no bitterness or anger at the memory. Granted, it was nearly thirty years after the attack occurred, but he and others I met who experienced so much hatred directed against them during those nightmarish years didn’t have time for negativity. Their purpose was not to divide, but to unite, and unity doesn’t happen through anger, hatred or bitterness.
At some point I read John Lewis’ memoir, Walking With the Wind. His story truly was inspirational. Surely, it seemed, his sense of faith and the related connectedness to others who shared that faith fed and sustained him through the many challenges, difficulties, dangers and violent times he knew. It’s a message for the ages and applicable to anyone who hears it, even though most never face the severity of trouble and danger with which he contended.
A few years after leaving WPH, I decided to seek his personal inscription on my copy of his book. So, one day there I was, bounding up the Metro escalator on my way to Lewis’s office, having dropped off the book a couple of weeks earlier.
The receptionist went through the door behind her and retrieved my book.
As I stood there and turned to the title page to read what John Lewis wrote, the door opened again and Lewis himself emerged. I waved the book as I said, “Thanks for signing it.” He came to me and shook my hand. Unlike so many politicians I have met and observed, Congressman Lewis looked directly into my eyes as he said a word of greeting, and once again I was in awe of this small man who continues to contribute in large ways to the greater good of our society and the world.
After that, I always kept John Lewis’s book on my desk at work, and sometimes when I felt discouraged or frustrated by the church, or when I questioned my calling and my commitment to it, I picked it up and read again what he wrote on the title page. Above his signature, along with his “Best Wishes,” John Lewis wrote, “Keep the faith.”
