People should organize people to just turn up and participate in the democratic process. Knock on doors. They may not be old enough to register to vote, but they can urge their teachers, their parents, their grandparents, their mothers, their fathers, and others to get out and vote.

John Lewis

Categorized in : Father Teacher Mother

If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it.

fairs obligation moral

You cannot be afraid to speak up and speak out for what you believe. You have to have courage, raw courage.

speaks-out speak believe

Our struggle is a struggle to redeem the soul of America. It's not a struggle that lasts for a few days, a few weeks, a few months, or a few years. It is the struggle of a lifetime, more than one lifetime.

struggle america years

Young people can understand, and must understand, that we had success, we had failures, but we never gave up. We never gave in. We never became bitter. We didn't hate. We continued to press on. And that's what we're saying: There are some ups, there are some downs, and when you're not down, you must have the capacity and the ability to get up and keep going.

bitter hate people

I met Rosa Parks when I was 17. I met Dr. [Martin Luther] King when I was 18. These two individuals inspired me to find a way to get in the way, to get in trouble. So I got in good trouble, necessary trouble.

drs kings two

We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us. by John Lewis

We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us.

chosen may

It is my hope that people today will see that, in another time, in another period, when we saw the need for people to speak up, to organize, to mobilize, and to do something about injustice, we came together.

together people needs

I thought I was going to die a few times. On the Freedom Ride in the year 1961, when I was beaten at the Greyhound bus station in Montgomery, I thought I was going to die. On March 7th, 1965, when I was hit in the head with a night stick by a State Trooper at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, I thought I was going to die. I thought I saw death, but nothing can make me question the philosophy of nonviolence.

bridges philosophy night

When people tell me nothing has changed, I say come walk in my sh... by John Lewis

When people tell me nothing has changed, I say come walk in my shoes and I will show you change.

shoes change people

We have come a long way in America because of Martin Luther King, Jr. He led a disciplined, nonviolent revolution under the rule of law, a revolution of values, a revolution of ideas. We've come a long way, but we still have a distance to go before all of our citizens embrace the idea of a truly interracial democracy, what I like to call the Beloved Community, a nation at peace with itself.

beloved-community distance kings

I say from time to time that the vote is precious. It's almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool or instrument that we have in a democratic society. And we must use it.

powerful tools use

If you're not hopeful and optimistic, then you just give up. You have to take that long hard look and just believe that if your consistent, you will succeed

optimistic giving-up believe

We built a coalition of conscience, and that we can do it again, and we can go forward, and help redeem the soul of America.

soul helping america

You cannot give up - you have to be persistent and keep pushing,... by John Lewis

You cannot give up - you have to be persistent and keep pushing, and press on.

persistent pushing giving-up

Don`t give up! Don`t give in! Keep the faith! And keep your eyes... by John Lewis

Don`t give up! Don`t give in! Keep the faith! And keep your eyes on the prize!

dont-give-up giving-up eye

We never gave up. We didn't get lost in a sea of despair. We kept the faith. We kept pushing and pulling. We kept marching. And we made some progress.

despair progress sea

Even in the civil rights movement, there were so many unbelievable women. They never, ever received the credit that they should have received. They did all of the, and I cannot say it, they did all of the dirty work. Hard work.

hard-work should-have dirty

In spite of all of the things, the issues, that we may be confronting today, I'm very hopeful, very optimistic about the future.

hopeful issues optimistic

I truly believe that one day we will get there, we will arrive. And if we do it right in America, maybe, just maybe, we can serve as a model for the rest of the world.

one-day believe america

We will stand up for what is right, for what is fair and what is just. Health care is a right and not a privilege.

health-care privilege care