I don't have any extraordinary gifts. I'm just an average Joe who grew up very poor in rural Alabama. John Lewis More Quotes by John Lewis More Quotes From John Lewis People must understand that people were beaten, arrested, jailed, and some people were murdered, while attempting to register to vote, or to get others to register to vote. John Lewis attempting vote people When growing up, I saw segregation. I saw racial discrimination. I saw those signs that said white men, colored men. White women, colored women. White waiting. And I didn't like it. John Lewis white-man growing-up men I have fought too hard and for too long against discrimination based on race and color not to stand up against discrimination based on sexual orientation. I've heard the reasons for opposing civil marriage for same-sex couples. Cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred and intolerance I have known in racism and in bigotry. John Lewis cutting couple sex To make it hard, to make it difficult almost impossible for people to cast a vote is not in keeping with the democratic process. John Lewis vote impossible people You have to have the capacity and the ability to take what people did, and how they did it, and forgive them and move on. John Lewis forgiving people moving I think Donald Trump is dividing the American people. He is not good for America. It's not good for our standing in the rest of the world. To divide people based on race, a color, a religion, a sexual orientation, it's just ... it's just wrong. John Lewis color america thinking I say to people today, 'You must be prepared if you believe in something. If you believe in something, you have to go for it. As individuals, we may not live to see the end. John Lewis may believe people When I speak to students about the Civil Rights Movement, I say that it is impossible to stop a determined movement that is captivating the American consciousness. I think the candidacy of Sen. Obama represents the beginning of a new movement in American political history that began in the hearts and minds of the people of this nation. And I want to be on the side of the people, on the side of the spirit of history. John Lewis rights heart thinking But you have to have hope. You have to be optimistic in order to continue to move forward. John Lewis optimistic order moving Races don't fall in love, genders don't fall in love: Individuals fall in love. We all should be free to marry the person that we love. John Lewis individual falling-in-love race Medgar Evers was assassinated in his driveway retuning from an NAACP meeting in downtown Jackson. And then you go back there years later, and the blood is still on the driveway. They cannot wash it away. John Lewis downtown blood years Today, we have come a distance. We have made a lot of progress. That cannot be denied. You cannot dispute the fact that our country is so different from 50 years ago. But we still have problems. There are too many people that have been left out and left behind, and they are African American, they are White, Latino, Asian American, and Native American. John Lewis distance native-american country When I was a student, I studied philosophy and religion. I talked about being patient. Some people say I was too hopeful, too optimistic, but you have to be optimistic just in keeping with the philosophy of non-violence. John Lewis optimistic philosophy people Be prepared to organize nonviolent workshops - a teach-in around what is happening in America today. Organize your teachers and schoolmates, and be prepared to engage in some action. John Lewis teacher today america ['March'] is a path you must take if you want to move from one point to another point. If you want to make it down this very long and troublesome road, follow this path. Follow this message. Follow this map. And you will get there some day. John Lewis maps long moving Maybe, just maybe, there should be a graphic novel dealing with the contribution of the women of the civil rights movement, to tell their story. The pain, the hurt. They raised their children. Some were working as maids, but when they left those kitchens, those homes, they made it to the mass meetings. And they put their bodies on the lines, also. John Lewis pain hurt children First time I got arrested, I knew somehow and some way, we would succeed. To go on the Freedom Ride to be beaten and left bloody and unconscious, to be beaten on that bridge in Selma, have a concussion - I thought that I was going to die on that bridge. But somehow and some way, I lived to tell about what happened, and I've seen some of the fruits of the labor of so many people, and people must understand that. John Lewis bridges goes-on people We're not questioning the legitimacy of the outcome of the election. You didn't have Republicans questioning whether or not [Barack] Obama legitimately beat John McCain in 2008. John Lewis election republican outcomes Right now what my job is, and I think the job of Democrats and Republicans, is to protect the middle class and working families of this country from some devastating ideas that [Donald] Trump has proposed. John Lewis jobs country thinking I've said it in the past and I'll say it again today: the vote is precious; it's almost sacred. John Lewis sacred today past
