Filmmaker Robin Smith looks on as Congressman John Lewis relates stories of the Civil Rights Movement (Photo credit: Byron Buck)

Through nonviolence, courage displaces fear; love transforms hate. Acceptance dissipates prejudice; hope ends despair. Peace dominates war; faith reconciles doubt. Mutual regard cancels enmity. Justice for all overthrows injustice. The redemptive community supercedes systems of gross social immorality.
-- from the Statement of Purpose of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (1960)

On the evening of June 17, 2008, The Faith & Politics Institute hosted the congressional premiere screening of Come Walk In My Shoes, an award-winning documentary by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Robin Smith. The film chronicles the work of Rep. John Lewis, during the Civil Rights Movement and in the Congress, and the leadership he seeks to inspire in others. The film seamlessly weaves historical footage of Alabama in the 1960s with shots taken during two recent FPI Pilgrimages to Alabama.

A standing-room-only crowd gathered in the Lyndon B. Johnson room of the U.S. Capitol, including 22 members of the House and Senate. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Minority Leader Roy Blunt served as honorary co-hosts for the event. Congressman Hoyer has been to Alabama with Congressman Lewis and The Faith & Politics Institute on three separate occasions. Congressman Blunt announced that he would be joining the Institute's next Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama.

Featured speakers included Congressman John Lewis, filmmaker Robin Smith, Rep. Hoyer, Rep. Blunt, Sen. Harry Reid, Civil Rights luminary Bob Zellner, and Rob Liberatore, formerly of The Chrysler Corporation. Liberatore spoke of the two pilgrimages he has attended, recalling how he brought his son on the second pilgrimage so that he, too, could experience the power of walking through history with Congressman Lewis.

Honorary co-hosts Minority Leader Roy Blunt and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Photo credit: Byron Buck)

The film screening was followed by a question and answer session, during which Congressman Lewis spoke about his experiences as a young man during the Civil Rights Movement, and Robin Smith talked about going to Alabama with The Faith & Politics Institute and making the film.

Members of Congress present at the event included Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine), Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), Rep. Donna Christensen (D-V.I.), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Rep. Fred Upto (D-Mich.), and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Other persons of note included Jack Calhoun, founder of the National Crime Prevention Council; House Chaplain Dan Coughlin; Rev. Dr. Welton Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance; Bill Plant of CBS; Chief Chad Smith of the Cherokee Nation; and Dr. Sayyid Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America.

Come Walk In My Shoes was made possible with primary funding from the Chrysler Foundation and Daimler North America and major support from Freddie Mac, Mortgage Insurance Companies of America and The Nathan Cummings Foundation. Come Walk in My Shoes has been featured in eleven film festivals, winning the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at the Charlotte Film Festival, Best in Humanities at the Columbus Film Festival and a Telly for Outstanding Documentary on Television. The film began airing on public television stations in February 2008 and will be seen across the country for the next four years.

View photos from the event.

Read the Roll Call article about the event.