We lose yet another hero–John Lewis. Admittedly, I certainly knew of Representative Lewis in some regards, however, today I feel so much more aware of this black warrior’s journey. Even though the ending of John’s life is sadly providing a distraction from the crazy pandemic, economic chaos and civil unrest, his life has given us SO much to reflect on regarding his non-violent approach to getting into what he called “good trouble”. His humility and impressive ethical leadership earned him the title “conscience of Congress’”.
A son of a sharecropper, inspired at a young age by Martin Luther King, Lewis led demonstrations against racially segregated restrooms, hotels, restaurants, public parks and swimming pools, and he rose up against other humiliation of second-class citizenship. At nearly every turn he was spat upon, burned with cigarettes and was beaten close to death in Selma, Alabama (otherwise known as “Bloody Sunday”) on the Edmund Pettus Bridge (named after a former Confederate general, U.S. senator, and leader of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan). No matter which march he was energized to lead or participate in–whether it was LGBT, women’s or general minority rights, many resulted in 40 arrests. Ultimately, his “good trouble” helped lead to the passage of the federal Voting Rights Act (the true beginning of democracy in this country). Through it all, he followed MLK’s mission: “I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” How powerful!!
Talk about resembling the Christ-like message of love thy neighbor, John’s life has left a beacon for us all to follow. Even though John was a man of deep faith he didn’t preach religious values–he lived them! (As it should be–right?)
Ava DuVernay’s (the director of the movie Selma in 2014) has recently completed a documentary entitled 13th which is about how the Thirteenth Amendment led to mass incarceration in the United States of blacks. Here’s part of the introduction that I feel is SO poignant: “History is not just stuff that happens by accident–we are the products of the history that our ancestors chose if we are white–if we are black, we are products of the history that our ancestors most likely did not choose, yet here we all are together, products of that set of choices that we have to understand in order to escape.” This documentary is now available on Netflix and has become an important part of my Black Lives Matter enlightenment. I have found it SO powerful to put this historical time into an eye-opening perspective–to the point of better understanding what’s happening even today. Realistically, how can any of us truly understand this journey if we have not lived it–further enlightenment and conversation is key!
Before his death, Representative Lewis said the following regarding the recent Black Lives Matter movement: “It was very moving, very moving to see hundreds of thousands of people from all over America and around the world take to the streets–to speak up, to speak out, to get into what I call ‘good trouble’. Interestingly enough, it took a video capture of both John’s beating on that bridge as well as George Floyd’s brutal death to arouse our consciousness of ongoing racial brutality.
Mr. Lewis left us with many encouraging words through his years:
“You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone — any person or any force — dampen, dim or diminish your light, Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won.”
Here’s the deal–just because we were raised one way or the other doesn’t need to dictate our actions moving forward. And, if by chance, we might feel we are showing disrespect to our ancestors by changing that up to a more loving and compassionate posture–I do have faith that those that have crossed over to the other side are seeing things from a very different (enlightened) perspective and they are applauding our courage to move forward in a more loving light.
How do we turn our negative familial tide? Through education and developing more self love. There are many tools available to enhance our self love through free meditation apps (like Insight Timer) and meditation scripts that are simple and effective, which you can quickly record on your own voice, and listen to whenever we meditate.
We too can become Warriors of “good trouble”. Let’s listen to our better angels and move forward in love–being gentle with ourselves along the way.
And of course I can’t forget to leave you some culvid humor: The spread of Covid19 is based on two factors: 1. How dense the population is and 2. How dense the population is. (Let’s show our love by wearing our mask.)