there's something deep down within me moving me that i could no longer be
satisfied or go along with an evil
sister life was extremely dangerous when we
were growing up
john lewis had the respect of everybody because he was the one who demonstrated
the most courage
he'd been beaten and knocked down and get up and
go to find another battle john was focused on ending voter
suppression and it wasn't that he was a great orator
is that he was a great spirit
the power of spirituality and humility and the willingness to suffer rather
than to inflict suffering
one of the things that john has taught us is that
you may have to sacrifice but if you're sacrificing for a cause
something bigger than you bigger than you
and you really believe in it then you will have people following you
we do not get meaningful legislation out of this congress
we will march through the south through the streets of jackson through the
streets of danville through the streets of cambridge
i think he is the singular figure that has tried to carry out the
work of our nonviolent campaigns into the halls
of congress from day one john lewis was a role model
for the members of congress whether they were freshmen or here a long time
because he brought with him a kind of heft
a weightiness of purpose i got arrested a few times during the
60s
40 times
and since i've been in congress another five times
it means by which we struggle must be consistent
with the end we see someone who has navigated
thorny issues of policy not by castigating alone but by also
encouraging people to be better than they think they can be
today we are considering a fair housing measure which not only protects
our nation's minorities but it protects the needs of those with disabilities
and families with children how long do we have to wait
before we decide to ban assault weapons we have another opportunity
to bring more of our citizens into political participation
i have on my marching shoes and all of these decades later while he
and others of his generation achieved much
we're still fighting against police brutality and fighting for
our voting rights and so we best honor him by
continuing to fight the good fights that he fought
by staying in good trouble
together
can't you see we are the same our freedom can't wait another day
so together let's fight
fight for what's right
we will create the beloved community we will redeem the soul of america
as a nation and as a people we will get
there