Good Trouble: A Personal Tribute to John Lewis

From his teen years on, John Lewis was determined to not only give words to his observations about injustices heaped on Black Americans for 400 years, but he also backed his words up with actions.

​John Lewis’ ancestors were among the many who escaped slavery only to find few opportunities open to them. As a boy, his parents pleaded with him not to call attention to himself. Brother Samuel recalls that their mother warned John “not to get in trouble, not to get in the way.” The message was clear ─  be quiet, keep your head down and don’t get into trouble. The lives of his family depended on it.

Some years later, John Lewis talked about how difficult it was to balance speaking out about cruel injustices and keeping his family safe. He loathed endangering his family.

But as he moved into adulthood, he could not stand by and do nothing. And, he didn’t. He paid dearly for his courage. But, as family members said at a memorial Saturday, July 25, 2020,  he was a fighter for  "the least of us."
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He knew pain and injustice. He never stopped causing “good trouble,” from sit-ins at lunch counters, to freedom rides on buses, from suffering serious injury during a peaceful march over a bridge to his tireless work for the voting rights of people of color. Rest in Power, John Lewis.

Click here to read the inspirational last words of John Lewis.

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