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Quote by John Lewis

“The book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, I read it when I was about 17-and-a-half or 18. It changed my life.”

Quote by John Lewis

Author

John Lewis, an American politician born on February 21, 1940, and passed away in 2016. He was a civil rights activist and served as a U.S. Representative. Throughout his life, he actively participated in the American civil rights movement and made significant contributions to the cause of equality and justice. more

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“I heard of Martin Luther King Jr. when I was 15 years old. I heard of Rosa Parks. And I met Dr. King in 1958 at the age of 18. I met Rosa Parks ... But to pick up a fun comic book - some people used to call them "funny books" - to pick this little book up, it sold for 10 cents, 12 pages or 14 pages? 14 pages I digested. And it inspired me. And I said to myself, "If the people of Montgomery can do this, maybe I can do something. Maybe I can make a contribution."”

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Author:John Lewis

“I heard Dr. King speaking on the radio, and it seemed like he was saying, "John Robert Lewis, you too can make a contribution. You can get involved!"”

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Author:John Lewis

“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.”

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Author:John Lewis

“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.”

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Author:John Lewis

“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.”

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Author:John Lewis

“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.”

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Author:John Lewis

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

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Author:John Lewis

“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.”

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Author:John Lewis

“I'm gonna say that I have followed every presidential campaign since the campaign of President [John F.] Kennedy in 1960.”

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Author:John Lewis

“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.”

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Author:John Lewis