July 18, 2020

Guess who the Robert E. Lee High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, will be renamed after?

The “Robert E. Lee High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, will be renamed after Rep. John Lewis, the district announced on Thursday.”

Robert E. Lee himself was against Confederate memorials.

“I think it wiser,” the retired military leader wrote about a proposed Gettysburg memorial in 1869, “…not to keep open the sores of war but to follow the examples of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, to commit to oblivion the feelings engendered.”

For more: Civil Rights Legend John Lewis Dies: The “Conscience of Congress” is Gone.

Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Dies: A Send-off Worthy of us All. {Video}

Some people change the world in small, subtle waves in their lives.

The dominoes fall and they are undeniably the responsible parties. We all hope to be them in one form or another. And then, there are the figures among us who take a stand and make change their mission. It is their calling.

Congressman John Lewis was one of those men. He was a leader, an activist, and an unequaled man in the fight for Civil Rights during his personal and political life. It seems fitting that the hashtag #RestinPower is being used to honor his life and his legacy.

Perhaps the most apropos send-off I’ve seen yet is a short clip from 2016 in which he is offered the opportunity to crowd surf on the “Late Show” with Stephen Colbert and, characteristically, is all for the experience.

~

The sight alone caught my breath. But it was his words that struck me right in the heart. When asked what it was like to crowd surf, Congressman John Lewis replied, “It was amazing. It was amazing. I just wanted people to keep me up.” 

And now, sir, it’s our job to do just that. It’s our job to keep you up—to hold you up in our hearts and to assure that you and your work are never forgotten. It’s our mission now to continue your work while you rest in the power and the peace that you so richly deserve.

 

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