We're here with Congressman Lewis, John Lewis,
who is, um, talking to us about his new book, March.
A powerful book, a powerful life you've lived.
Inspiration through and through.
People talk about the Black Lives Matter movement
all the time, and say,
"That's not something Martin Luther King would have done.
"That's not how he would have handled it.
Martin Luther King wouldn't be proud."
You knew Martin Luther King, Jr.
You were out there marching.
When you see Black Lives Matter,
what are the things that you commend?
And I guess then after, we'll talk about
what are the things where you think they can improve.
For many of the young people that are taking part
in the Black Lives Matter movement, reading March...
We had a young lady in Louisiana
who read the book,
and she emerged as one of the leaders there.
She, uh... she marched, she got arrested,
and, uh, went to jail.
But when the police officer was murdered,
when the young man was murdered,
she had a vision for the... for the young black man
and for the police officers.
March is a blueprint.
It is a road map.
It's for now, it is for the future.
We're saying to the young people of America
and the young people of the world...
You know, in London, there is a...
unbelievable movement growing there
of Black Lives Matter.
It's spreading all across America.
And I think Martin Luther King, Jr. would be
very proud to see young African-American,
young white American, young Latinos and Asian-American
and Native American coming together
to say no to racism, no to hate.
That we must disarm hate
and create what you call "The Beloved Community,"
and redeem the soul of America.
And in doing so,
maybe we can help redeem the soul of the world
and save this little planet.
For... for people who are fundamentally opposed
to, uh, Black Lives Matter,
people who say...
the movement itself inspires hate--
you know, why are things being broken,
why are there marches
where people are burning things down?
You... you were a founder of the SNCC,
which was a student council that was specifically designed
around nonviolence.
That was an important distinction
that you had to make-- I've always been fascinated
as to why you made that distinction.
Well, we studied.
We prepared ourselves.
We studied the life and teaching of Gandhi.
We studied Thoreau and civil disobedience.
We studied about what was happening in South Africa.
Uh, we heard about Mandela... and others,
and... we accepted the way of nonviolence
as a way of life, as a way of living.
You know, during the '60s, I was arrested 40 times,
and since I've been in congress, another five times,
and I'm probably gonna get arrested again
-for something else. But... -(laughter)
but you have to be prepared...
to say, "You may beat me, you may arrest me
and throw me in jail."
I almost died on that bridge for the right to vote.
I gave a little blood, but other people gave their lives.
When you say that...
there are some people in the community who say...
"I'm tired of giving my blood.
I'm tired of... having our blood spilt."
And then there are a few who say, "I am going to act
against those who spill the blood."
How do you speak to those people who have a lot of pain,
who have a lot of anger, who have a lot of fear?
How do you... how do you speak to them, then?
We must not be afraid.
We must be hopeful.
We must be optimistic.
We must never hate.
As Dr. King would say,
hate is too heavy a burden to bear.
You know, we cannot create a society at peace with itself.
Because hating each other,
putting each other down...
And March: Book One, Book Two
and, now, Book Three,
tell the-the story
of how another generation of young people...
I remember so well the first time I got arrested
and went to jail.
I was 20 years old,
and I wanted to look good.
We heard we would maybe get arrested and go to jail.
I wanted a new suit.
I had very little money.
So I went to a used men's store in downtown Nashville
and bought a suit with a vest.
I paid five dollars for this suit.
And I looked really sharp in that suit.
I really looked clean and fresh.
And if I had that suit today
I probably could sell it on eBay for a lot of money.
(audience laughs)
The, uh... the movement has changed.
Uh, the world changes.
You were there... I mean,
part of what you were marching for
is what resulted in the V...
in the-the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
uh, coming to fruition.
Was there a part of you that thought you had done your job?
You're like, "This is it. Racism's done."
No. Never.
It's an ongoing struggle.
A struggle is not a struggle that lasts for a few days,
a few weeks or a few months or a few years.
It is a struggle of a lifetime.
Maybe many lifetimes, but you must give it all.
And that's why our book, March, is saying
that we must continue to move our feet.
Continue to push and pull.
Not just to make America better,
but to make our planet a little better.
There are people who say America is great,
America no longer has problems with racism,
America is done.
There are people who are working against,
uh, the-the Voter Rights Act,
saying that it's no longer '65--
there are no more dogs and fire hoses.
These rules do not need to be in place anymore.
-Why do you still need these-these rules? -No, I...
I-I would disagree. America is great
and we can make America greater,
but we still have problems.
When you have, um, states--
whether it's North Carolina or-or Texas
or some other places-- trying to make it harder
and more difficult, that's why the courts a few days ago
-acted. -Yeah.
They want to take us back,
but we've come too far,
made too much progress to go back.
I've said over and over again,
the vote is precious.
It is almost sacred.
It's the most powerful, nonviolent instrument
or tool that we have in our democratic society.
We should make it easy and simple
for everybody to participate.
Powerful words. Thank you, sir.
-Thank you. -Thank you for being here.
-(cheering and applause) -Thank you.
I cannot recommend this book enough.
It is fascinating. It is a novel that takes you through
a beautiful story. It's a biography. It is a comic book.
It is a graphic illustration. It is everything in one.
March: Book 3 is available now.
Congressman John Lewis, everyone.
-(cheering and applause) -♪ ♪