Rep. John Lewis Congress in the Community Events
Oct 3, 2012
Press Release
Posts of type: Editorial
May 3, 2011
Ways and Means Democrats Urge Repeal of Tax Breaks for Big Oil
The letter comes as gas prices have surged above $4 a gallon in many parts of the country and the Big Five reported a combined $32 billion in first quarter profits, huge gains from a year ago.
Apr 4, 2011
American Middle Class is Against a Wall
Seven young protesters arrested in Nashville last month recognized how much is at stake, and they did not hesitate to stand up for the rights of working people. Their civil disobedience brings to mind another fight for civil rights: the strike by the 1,300 sanitation workers of AFSCME Local 1733, whose courageous actions gained national attention and brought the intervention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
Feb 4, 2011
Glenn Beck's rally cannot block nation's path
Almost 50 years ago Saturday, Martin Luther King Jr. transformed the steps of the Lincoln Memorial into a modern-day pulpit with his message of faith and hope. He stood before the world and shared his vision for a different, better America. He inspired all of us to reach for our higher selves and lay down the burden of racial discrimination and hate.
Jan 17, 2011
It's time to dial down the political rhetoric
As we hang in the balance as a nation, whispering silent prayers for the victims, the survivors and the slain, as we wait for news of the final outcome of this tragedy, perhaps we should take a moment to review our own history as a nation.
Jul 15, 2009
Give Troy Anthony Davis a new trial
My heart goes out to the family of Officer Mark McPhail who has suffered, not only due to the wrongful death of a devoted father and husband, but also due to the inability of government to resolve this case justly.
Jan 22, 2009
Obama's quantum leap in citizen service
Years later, we worked together in Congress as co-authors of the King Holiday and Service Act, because we knew that Martin would want a day in his honor to be more than a day of rest, recreation, and shopping. It needed to be a day of action; a day of working together to right wrongs; a day to realize the Dream he left us - the American dream of liberty and justice for all.
Jan 22, 2009
As leader, Atlanta celebrates King, Obama
On Tuesday, we as a city celebrate with the nation, but the people of Atlanta have a special reason to be proud. For the last 100 years, our city has been at the forefront of change. When others fomented division across the South, there was a coalition of the willing here who locked arms, joined hands, said prayers, and took action. They encircled the city in an invisible ring of hope that held us together during the most difficult hours in our history. And Atlanta became a beacon of light to the rest of the nation.
Mar 8, 2008
A CHAMP for kids --- and Medicare
In fact, however, since SCHIP was created in 1997 --- the product of a bipartisan effort between President Bill Clinton and then-Speaker Gingrich --- states have contracted with private managed care plans to provide coverage for low-income children.
Mar 8, 2008
We Must Not Tolerate Hate Crimes
The recent troubling controversies in Jena, La., at Columbia University, and at the University of Maryland highlight the disturbing increase in the number of violent attacks and hate-motivated incidents in schools throughout the country. The nation’s schools and universities have often been a battleground on civil rights. After all, they lay the foundation for a civil society. If we silence the history of intolerance in the classroom, if we fail to discuss the brutal and peculiar institution of slavery, the lawlessness and lynching of the Jim Crow era, the horrors of the Third Reich, then our children will not truly comprehend the significance of contemporary acts of genocide, such as the atrocities in Rwanda or Darfur.
Jun 25, 2007
Open Door to Horrid Truths
When Emmett Till's broken body was sent from Mississippi back to Chicago, his mother took one look at her son's body and demanded an open-casket funeral. Fifty thousand people came to see that body, and his battered face. There must be few things more wrenching for a mother than to put her deceased son on display. But she chose to do just that, rather than to seal the truth in a casket.
