Throughout his time in office, President Donald Trump has stood for hatred and division among Americans. He’s tried to turn his followers against their fellow Americans for his own political gain. Georgia’s Democratic Congressman John Lewis, who passed away last Friday, stood for the exact opposite. Besides his decades of service as a Congressman, Lewis was also a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, having helped lead protests across the country against racism and in favor of voting rights and other freedoms for black Americans. The anti-Trump Republican group known as The Lincoln Project issued a tribute to Lewis over the weekend in which they admonish Americans to take up Lewis’s legacy and continue the fight.
Lewis, in his life, consistently made his opposition to Trump abundantly clear, and he also supported some of the more recent bursts of protests like the Black Lives Matter movement that has taken hold across the nation.
In the new Lincoln Project video, a narrator says:
‘John Lewis — he was jailed and beaten but never bowed. The son of sharecroppers, he was one of the first Freedom Riders, attacked by a mob and left for a dead at a bus station in Montgomery, Alabama. He got back up and led the fight for justice. That was John Lewis. He always got back up and never quit. Surrounded and assaulted by hate, he rejected violence and embraced love. For over half a century, he showed us the true meaning of courage and dignity.’
Could any of that be said about Trump, even by his most fervent supporters? Does Trump even stand for anything other than himself?
The narrator continues by connecting Lewis’s work to the current state of America. They add:
‘Today, America is in another crisis, and a new wave of hate is once again embraced by the powerful to hold on to their power. In the days ahead, let us be guided by the courage of John Lewis. He never quit. He always got up. He knew a better day belonged to those who has the courage to act. Now it’s our turn.’
Check out the video below:
This November, Americans will have the opportunity to embody Lewis’ spirit, take up his mantle and carry on his enduring legacy by exercising their right to vote. pic.twitter.com/eJNwz9GFxi
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 19, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response below:
