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John Lewis, Towering Figure of Civil Rights Era, Dies at 80
NY Times By Katharine Q. Seelye July 17, 2020 Representative John Lewis, a son of sharecroppers and an apostle of nonviolence who was bloodied at Selma and across the Jim Crow South in the historic struggle for racial equality, and who then carried a mantle of moral authority into Congress, died on Friday. He was 80. His death was confirmed in a statement by Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives. Mr. Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, announced on Dec. 29 that he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and vowed to fight it with the same passion with which he had battled racial injustice. “I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life,” he said. On the front lines of the bloody campaign to end Jim Crow laws, with blows to his body and a fractured skull to prove it, Mr. Lewis was a valiant stalwart of the civil rights movement and the last surviving speaker from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Click here to read more. |
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Lexington MLK Day Committee is deeply saddened, distraught, and dismayed
by the recent spate of racial violence that has occurred in our country. Racial discrimination still exists in a very serious and institutionalized way. It reflects the worst actions and beliefs in our society and runs counter to everything we stand for as Americans, Lexingtonians, and people who believe that we are all created equal.
by the recent spate of racial violence that has occurred in our country. Racial discrimination still exists in a very serious and institutionalized way. It reflects the worst actions and beliefs in our society and runs counter to everything we stand for as Americans, Lexingtonians, and people who believe that we are all created equal.
To be clear, we, the Lexington MLK Day Committee:
Stand against discrimination
Stand against bigotry
Stand for racial justice
Stand with the Black community here, and across the world
Stand against bigotry
Stand for racial justice
Stand with the Black community here, and across the world
We are committed to fostering conversations and actions to bring about change. We are committed to helping end racial discrimination. We are committed to doing our part to support the cause of racial justice here and everywhere.
Website created and maintained by Lexington MLK Day volunteers. Copyright © 2015-2020 Town of Lexington.