“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of our dear friend and a true American hero, Congressman John R. Lewis. We are honored to have learned the lessons of America’s nonviolent revolution from the man who unselfishly put his life on the line over and over again for equality and justice for all.
“Beginning in 1998, as Board Co-Chair of the Faith & Politics Institute, Congressman John Lewis led his Congressional colleagues to Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma, Alabama on annual Pilgrimages to walk in his shoes, retracing his footsteps in the Civil Rights Movement. Over the past two decades, the Institute and Congressman Lewis brought US Senators and Representatives, US Presidents, and other national and international leaders on a transformational journey that begins by deepening participants’ understanding of the history of racial injustice and ends with their broad and profound desire to work toward racial reconciliation and healing.
“Lewis led his colleagues on pilgrimage to South Africa to learn the power of love and forgiveness through its Truth and Reconciliation Commission, joining with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other leaders who moved the nation forward after Apartheid. We journeyed to Northern Ireland together, where young people were drawn to his side, excited to capture a moment with him. Lewis kindled that light in young people seeking to be change makers by making them an integral part of each pilgrimage, bringing students on the journey to learn the history and become powerful forces for nonviolent social impact.
“Lewis had the ability to draw out the best in us. On the first Congressional pilgrimage, Lewis brought his colleagues to meet with Alabama’s former segregationist Governor, George Wallace, in a demonstration of love and forgiveness. On later pilgrimages, Lewis would become dear friends with Wallace’s daughter, Peggy Wallace Kennedy, now a human rights advocate and a testament to the healing power of truth and reconciliation. Lewis graciously received apologies from the Montgomery police chief on behalf of the department for failing to protect the Freedom Riders in 1961 and healing words from others who ultimately recognized their roles in a system that failed to live up to the highest American ideals.
“On the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Congressman John Lewis was embraced by America’s first African American President Barack Obama on the bridge, representing a milestone in the fulfillment of hopes and dreams of John Lewis and the foot soldiers who put their lives on the line for the right to vote. Former President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush joined the Obama family and Congressman Lewis for the momentous occasion.
“Congressman John Robert Lewis graced public service with a revolutionary kind of love that was the heart of the American Civil Rights Movement. He never gave in to hatred and divisiveness in politics. He despised injustice and unkind behavior, and he never lost or abandoned hope for the redemption of anyone. He taught his Congressional colleagues to never give up, and never give in on matters of justice. He was always working toward that more perfect union.
“The Faith & Politics Institute has been immeasurably blessed by his leadership as our Board Co-Chair from 1998-2006, and since then as Board Chair Emeritus and Honorary co-host of our annual Congressional pilgrimages. History will record Congressman John Lewis as one of the great civil rights leaders of our time. To us, he was a good friend and mentor, and a man who always led us with love in his heart, righteousness in his actions, and serenity in his soul.
“Our love and prayers are with the Congressman’s son John-Miles and his family, Michael Collins and the Lewis staff, and his many loved ones. Now, we must pick up the torch, honor Congressman Lewis’ legacy and follow in his footsteps by standing up, speaking out and working to do what is right in our time - end racial and economic injustice, protect our sacred right to vote and even engage in some ‘good trouble, necessary trouble’ from time to time. May he forever rest in well-earned peace, and may his power to inspire change be the legacy we receive from his extraordinary life."
