>>> CIVIL RIGHTS ICON
CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS
REMEMBERED TODAY BY THOSE WHO
KNEW HIM BEST INCLUDING TWO WITH
HIM ON THAT MARCH WITH DR. KIRNG
IN 1963.
LEWIS MIGHT BEST BE REMEMBERED
FOR HIS COURAGE AND THE BRUTING
BEATING ENDURED IN 1965 WHEN
PEACEFULLY MARCH IT’S WITH DR.
KING IN ACCEPT MA ONSELMA ON THE
BIRMINGHAM
THIS BECAME KNOWN AT "BLOODY
SUNDAY."
I SPOKE WITH HIM ABOUT THIS ON
THE 50th ANNIVERSARY.
>> NBC INTERVIEWED YOU ON THAT
FATEFUL DAY BEFORE YOU STARTED
THE MARCH.
>> WE’RE MARCHING TODAY TO
DRAMATIZE TO THE NATION AND TO
THE WORLD THAT HUNDREDS AND
THOUSANDS OF NEGRO CITIZENS ARE
ALABAMA BUT PARTICULARLY HERE IN
THIS ERA, MY RIGHT TO VOTE
WE INTEND TO MARCH TO
MONTGOMERY, AND SUBMIT OUR
GRIEVOUS TO GOVERNOR GEORGE W.
WALLACE.
>> I REMEMBER THAT DAY VERY
WELL
WE WERE DETERMINED, ORGANIZED,
DE WERE DISCIPLINED AND WE WERE
COMMITTED TO THE WAY OF PEACE.
THE WAY OF LOVE.
THE WAY OF NON-VIOLENCE.
WE WERE PREPARING TO DIE FOR
WHAT WE BELIEVED IN.
>> JOINING ME NOW IS ANDREW
YOUNG CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER,
FORMER AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED
NATIONS, AND, OF COURSE, A CIVIL
RIGHTS LEADER WITH MARTIN LUTHER
KING AS WELL
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON WHO
REPRESENTS THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA, AND JON MEACHAM,
PULITZER PRIZE WINNING AUTHOR
AND A NEW BOOK "HIS TRUTH IS
MARCHING ON: JOHN LEWIS AND
HOPE."
>> AMBASSADOR, HOW DO YOU
REMEMBER JOHN LEWIS?
>> I REMEMBER JOHN LEWIS AS ONE
OF MOST POWERFUL, HUMBLE AND
DEDICATED PEOPLE
YOU KNOW, IT’S ALWAYS AMAZED ME
HOW HE WENT TO THE FOUNDING OF
SNAKE IN NORTH CAROLINA.
THERE MUST HAVE BEEN 70 OR 80
CITIES, COLLEGES THERE, WITH
THEIR LEADERSHIP AND WERE ALL
BRILLIANT, ARTICULATE, THEY WERE
ALL AMBITIOUS AND AGGRESSIVE,
AND YET THEY ELECTED JOHN AS THE
PRESIDENT.
AND HAD THEY NOT ELECTED HIM,
THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE HELD
TOGETHER, BUT THERE’S SOMETHING
ABOUT HIM AS A KIND OF A
SPIRITUAL MAGNETISM THAT
ATTRACTS PEOPLE TO HIM AND YOU
KNOW YOU CAN TRUST HIM.
>> AND CONGRESSWOMAN, YOU WERE
WITH JOHN LEWIS AS ONE OF THE
STAFF ORGANIZERSEN THE MARCH ON
WASHINGTON
FOR HIM TO SPEAK THAT DAY, WAS
SO SIGNIFICANT AS HEAD OF THE
STUDENT NON-VIOLENT COORDINATING
COMMITTEE SNIC
AS THE YOUNG AMBASSADOR SAID,
DID YOU ALSO SEE THAT SPARK THAT
MADE HIM STAND OUT FROM THE
CROWD?
>> CERTAINLY
BECAUSE BEFORE I WORKED WITH
MARCH ON WASHINGTON WITH JOHN I
WAS A MEMBER OF THE STUDENT
NON-VIOLENCE COORDINATING
COMMITTEE, AND WHEN AMBASSADOR
YOUNG TALKS ABOUT OUR ELECTING
JOHN AS THE CHAIR, PLEASE
UNDERSTAND HOW, WHY THAT WAS
DONE.
IT REALLY WASN’T DONE IN THE WAY
WE ELECT PEOPLE TODAY FOR OFFICE
OR FOR ANY KIND OF -- ANYTHING
IN YOUR OWN LIFE.
JOHN BECAME THE HEAD OF THE
STUDENT NON-VIOLENT COORDINATING
COMMITTEE, BECAUSE HE WAS THE
BRAVEST, AND WHEN I SAY THAT, I
REALLY WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT THAT MEANS.
WHEN YOU SEE DEMONSTRATIONS IN
THE STREETS TODAY, THEY HAVE BECOME ROUTINE
BECOME ROUTINE
SNIC WAS THE, WAS THE BULL WORTW
THAT BROKE UP THE WORST PARTS OF
THE SOUTH, AND, THEREFORE, WHEN
THE WORDS TOOK YOUR LIFE IN YOUR
HANDS HAVE ANY MEANINGS, JOHN
LEWIS WAS ELECTED CHAIR OF SNIC
BECAUSE HE HAD TAKEN HIS LIFE IN
HIS HANDS MORE OFTEN THAN ANY OF
THE OTHER COLLEGE STUDENTS
NOT BECAUSE HE WAS THE MOST
ARTICULATE OR THE MOST ICONIC IN
ANY SENSE OF THE WORD.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE
THAT, BECAUSE WE SEE SO MANY
DEMONSTRATIONS TODAY, WE MAY NOT
UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANT TO BE
ARRESTED MORE THAN 40 TIMES, AND
THAT’S WHAT JOHN LEWIS WAS
WILLING TO RISK, WHICH MEANT HE RISKED HIS LIFE NOT ONLY ON THE,
RISKED HIS LIFE NOT ONLY ON THE,
ON THAT BRIDGE, THAT PETTUS
PRICH
BRIDGE BUT THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH
AND THAT’S WHAT OUR STUDENT
NON-VIOLENT COORDINATING
COMMITTEE WAS LITTLE DID WE
KNOW, JOHN AND I THAT WE WOULD
BOTH COME TO CONGRESS.
AND IT WAS ONE OF THE JOYS OF MY
LIFE TO REUNITE WITH JOHN LEWIS
IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED
STATES.
>> AND JON MEACHAM, AS WE WERE
JUST LOOKING AT PICTURES WITH
JOHN KENNEDY, PRESIDENT KENNEDY,
IN THE OVAL OFFICE AFTER THE
MARCH.
JOHN LEWIS TOLD ME THAT THEY
COULDN’T GET A MEETING AGREED TO
WITH PRESIDENT KENNEDY BEFORE
THE MARCH, BECAUSE BOBBY KENNEDY
AS ATTORNEY GENERAL AND NICHOLAS
KATZEN BECKE
KATZENBECK AND OTHERS WERE
WARNING THE PRESIDENT IT WOULD
BE VIOLENT, DIDN’T KNOW WHAT IT
WOULD BE AND EVEN HAD A PLAN TO
CUT OFF MICROPHONES IF IT BECAME
VIOLENT, WHICH THEY HAD NO
INTENTION OF BEING VIOLENT
PICTURES CAME AFTERWARDS
THAT WAS NOTABLE.
>> IT WAS.
LOOK WHERE JOHN LEWIS IS THERE
THE AMBASSADOR AND THE
CONGRESSWOMAN CAN I THINK AFFIRM
THIS
JAMES FORMAN, ALSO A SNIC
COLLEAGUE USED TO SAY, GET OUT
IN FRONT
DON’T GET IN THE BACK.
BUT LEWIS WOULD NOT PUT HIMSELF
FORWARD IN MOMENTS LIKE THAT.
IN FACT, I THINK IT ANNOYED SOME
OF THE PEOPLE IN THE
COMMUNICATIONS WORLD OF SNIC
THAT THEIR GUY SEEMED MORE
HUMBLE, BUT THAT’S WHAT HE WAS.
AND IT WAS A KIND OF HEROIC
HUMILITY, AND HEROIC HUMILITY IS
THE TEST, ONE OF THE TESTS, OF A
SAINT, AND OF A MARTYR AND
THAT’S WHAT JOHN LEWIS WAS AND
WE’RE NOT BEING SENTIMENTAL,
GAUZY, OVER REACTING TO THE
EMOTION OF HIS DEATH IN SAYING
THAT
THE PICTURE OF LYNDON JOHNSON IS
ON THE DAY THE VOTING ACT WAS
SIGNED WHICH CAME ABOUT BECAUSE
SCLC AND SNICED AMBASSADOR WAS
THERE, WITHIN A GREAT BOUT OF
CONTROVERSY WIRTH THE MOVEMENT
ITSELF
ONE OF THE THINGS IMPORTANT TO
REMEMBER AND HE WOULD WANT US TO
REMEMBER IS NONE OF THIS WAS
EASY
IT FEELS A LITTLE BIT LIKE A
FABLE NOW, THE MOVEMENT.
THE IMAGES ARE SO ICONIC
THEY’RE BEAUTIFUL.
THE CAUSE, SO JUST
BUT IT WAS HARD.
BE AND IT IS HARD.
AND THE LESSON OF LEWIS IS AS HE
PUT IT YOU HAVE TO OPEN YOURSELF
UP TO WHAT HE SOMETIMES CALLED
THE SPIRIT OF HISTORY.
AND TO HIM, THE SPIRIT OF
HISTORY WAS ROOTED IN THE
GOSPEL
IT WAS ROOTED IN THE STORY OF
JESUS, THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT,
THE TACTICS CAME FROM GANDHI,
LEADERS LIKE HOWARD THURMAN AND
OTHERS HAD LEARNED THE TACTICS
OF NON-VIOLENCE FROM THE
EXPERIENCE IN INDIA.
THEY BROUGHT THEM TO THE
AMERICAN SOUTH
MEN LIKE JAMES LAWSON, WOMEN
LIKE ELLA BAKER, WHO WAS
INSTRUMENTAL IN THE FOUNDING OF
SNIC
THERE WAS THIS GREAT CLOUD OF
WITNESSES, AND JOHN LEWIS WALKED POINT.
>> WELL, HE ALSO IN THAT ARC OF
HIS ROLE HAD TO MAKE A VERY
TOUGH CHOICE IN 2008
THE DEBATE OF BARACK OBAMA
DURING THE PRIMARY SEASON
BETWEEN BARACK OBAMA AND HILLARY
CLINTON, AND I WANTED TO SHARE
WHEN I INTERVIEWED HIM THAT DAY
ON WHY HE DECIDED TO ENDORSE
OBAMA.
HIS ANSWER WAS QUITE SURPRISING.
>> 43 YEARS AGO I MARCHED ACROSS
A BRIDGE IN SELMA.
IT WAS MUCH EASIER THAN THE
DECISION THAT I HAVE TO MAKE,
BUT I HAD TO MAKE IT.
>> YOU’RE SAYING THIS DECISION
WAS HARDER THAN THE SELMA MARCH?
>> IT WAS MUCH -- TOUGHER.
>> CONGRESSMAN, YOU GOT YOUR
HEAD BEATEN IN
YOUR FACE WAS COVERED WITH
BLOOD.
>> WELL, THIS IS TOUCHER
I’M DEALING WITH FRIENDS, PEOPLE