Quotessence
Home / Authors / John Lewis
John Lewis

John Lewis Quotes

U.S. Representative

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleTrumpThinkingCivil RightsPresidentYearsIfsAmericaCivil Rights MovementKings

Famous John Lewis Quotes

“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.”

PeopleWayFirstsDiesLeftHappenedGoes OnSucceedFirst TimeLaborFruitBridgesUnconsciousBloodyBeatenArrestedConcussions
Author:John Lewis
Create image

“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.”

ShouldChildrenMadeStoriesHomeBodyPainLeftHurtLinesNovelRightsMovementMassMeetingsRaisedCivil RightsMade ItKitchenContributionGraphicCivil Rights MovementMaidsGraphic Novels
Author:John Lewis
Create image

“When I was growing up in rural Alabama, as a young child, about 50 miles from Montgomery, and we would visit the little town of Troy, or visit Montgomery or Tuskegee, I would see the signs that said, "WHITE MEN - COLORED MEN," "WHITE WOMEN - COLORED WOMEN."And I would come home and say to my mother and father and my grandparents, "Why?" "Why this?" "Why that?" And they would just tell me, "That's just the way it is! Don't get in the way. Don't cause trouble."”

MenWayChildrenLittlesSaidHomeYoungMotherFatherCausesWhiteGrowing UpGrowingTroubleTownsMilesComing HomeGrandparentWhite ManYoung ChildrenMother And FatherAlabamaMontgomeryLittle Towns
Author:John Lewis
Create image

“I remember being at the church a few hours after the church was bombed in Birmingham, the 16th Street Baptist Church. It was very hard and very difficult to stand on that corner across the street from the church. Or to go Mississippi and search for the three civil rights workers who came up missing. There is a lot of trauma.”

HardRememberThreeDifficultHoursChurchRightsStreetsMissingWorkersCornersTraumaCivil RightsBaptistsMississippiBirmingham
Author:John Lewis
Create image

“Right now, what my job is - pardon me? Those are just words. Right now, what my - my job is right now going beyond media conflicts and words is to say that Donald Trump, among other things, told the American people he would not cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and right now Republicans in the House and Senate are doing just that.”

PeopleJobsHouseSocialCuttingSecurityMediaTrumpRepublicanRight NowConflictSenateSocial SecurityPardonMedicareMedicaidPardon MeMedicare And Medicaid
Author:John Lewis
Create image

“Today, all across this country there are going to be rallies led by Democrats and others to fight against the devastating impact of repeal of the Affordable Care Act. 20 million people thrown off of health insurance, prescription drug prices raising for seniors, privatization of Medicare: devastation. And we've got to fight back against that.”

PeopleCountryCareTodayFightingMillionsDrugImpactDemocratThrownSeniorAffordablePrescriptionsMedicareDevastationPrescription DrugsPrivatizationAffordable Care Act
Author:John Lewis
Create image

“What sensible people have got to do is not simply repeal the Affordable Care Act without any alternative, but you've got to sit down and say it's OK, what are the problems. How do we address it? How do we move to universal health care? How do we lower prescription drug costs? How do we make sure that people don't have outrageous deductibles? You just don't throw 20 million people off of health insurance. You don't privatize Medicare.”

PeopleProblemCareMovingMillionsCostDrugUniversalDown AndAlternativesHealth CareAddressesSensibleOutrageousAffordablePrescriptionsMedicarePrescription DrugsAffordable Care ActUniversal Health Care
Author:John Lewis
Create image

“Do we do away with protecting of the American people with pre - to make sure that if you have an illness you can get insurance? Do we make sure that young people stay on their parents' health insurance? Do we make sure that there are no caps if you're dealing with cancer and you deal with preexisting conditions? It goes without saying that those patient protections have got to stay in place.”

PeopleIfsYoungParentDealsConditionsPatientCancerIllnessProtectionCapsGet Insurance
Author:John Lewis
Create image