Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Hon P, J, Patterson, – currently ‘Statesman in Residence’ at the P.J. Patterson Centre for Africa-Caribbean Policy Advocacy, at The University of the West Indies, (UWI); commenting on the passing of US Congressman John Lewis, who died on Friday, July 17th, says that he will be recognized for the fact that he dedicated his life, from his youthful days, to the fight for freedom and justice.
Congressman Lewis, often described as “one of the most courageous persons the Civil Rights Movement ever produced”, in his pursuit of Civil Rights, was known for his humility, a commitment to peaceful advocacy, as well as his dedication to the highest ethical standards and moral principles; – characteristics that won him the admiration of many.
Mr. Patterson, whose personal interaction with Mr. Lewis, was as a ‘long-standing member’ of the US Congressional Black Caucus, has noted that since the establishment of the Caucus in 1971, it was committed to using the full Constitutional power, statutory authority, and financial resources of the federal government to ensure that African-Americans and other marginalized communities in the United States have the opportunity to achieve the ‘American Dream’. Accordingly, he fought over the ensuing years to empower these citizens and address their legislative concerns by pursuing a policy agenda that has spanned issues such as reforming the criminal justice system and eliminating barriers to reentry; combatting voter suppression; expanding access to world-class education from pre-k through post-secondary level; expanding access to quality, affordable health care and eliminating racial health disparities; expanding access to 21st century technologies and promoting U.S. foreign policy initiatives in Africa and other countries that are consistent with the fundamental right of human dignity; among other issues.
Not surprisingly, agrees Mr. Patterson, because of his dedicated work in the Caucus, Mr. Lewis came to be referred to as “the conscience of the US Congress.”
But his record of committed service to humanity, notes the former Jamaica Prime Minister. may be traced from his earliest years as the son of Share-Croppers in Troy, Alabama, and growing up on his family’s farm, attending segregated public schools in Pike County, Alabama. It chronicles his earliest inspirations as a young boy, when he was attracted to the activism surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which he heard on radio broadcasts and which inevitably led him to decide to become a part of the Civil Rights Movement.
Ever since then, he remained at the vanguard of progressive social movements and the human rights struggle in the United States.
In his long history in the Civil Rights Movement, it was noteworthy, states Mr. Patterson that while still a young man, John Lewis became a nationally recognized leader; by 1963 being dubbed one of the “Big Six” leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. At the age of 23, he was an architect of and a keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in August 1963.
During the height of the Movement, from 1963 to 1966, Lewis was named Chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which he helped form, as a civil-rights group formed to give younger blacks more of a voice in the civil rights movement. SNCC was largely responsible for organizing student activism in the Movement, including sit-ins and other activities. In 1964, John Lewis though the SNCC, organized voter registration drives and community action programs during the Mississippi Freedom Summer.
Most memorable, notes Mr. Patterson, was that in the following year, Lewis helped spearhead one of the most seminal moments of the Civil Rights Movement when he and Hosea Williams, another outstanding Civil Rights leader, led over 600 peaceful, orderly protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. They intended to march from Selma to Montgomery to demonstrate the need for voting rights in the state. However, the marchers were attacked by Alabama state troopers in a brutal confrontation that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” Ironically, news broadcasts and photographs revealing the senseless cruelty of the segregated South helped hasten the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“A further testimony to the man that he was”, observes Mr. Patterson, “was that despite more than 40 arrests, physical attacks and serious injuries, John Lewis remained a devoted advocate of the philosophy of nonviolence.”
The records of the outstanding history of the man reveal that after leaving SNCC in 1966, John Lewis, who describes himself as an “optimistic man”, continued his commitment to the Civil Rights Movement as Associate Director of the Field Foundation and his participation in the Southern Regional Council’s voter registration programmes and went on to become the Director of the Voter Education Project (VEP). Under his leadership, the VEP transformed the nation’s political climate by adding nearly four million minorities to the voter rolls.
“John Lewis… says Mr. Patterson,” was a valiant warrior, who in the context of the ongoing struggle, has left a personal legacy on which current efforts of the “Black Lives Matter” can build. He is a genuine American hero and moral leader who commands global respect.”
Mr. Patterson also salutes the fact that Mr. Lewis has deservedly won many awards from his country, including the highest civilian honor granted by President Barack Obama, the Medal of Freedom, the Lincoln Medal from the historic Ford’s Theatre, the Golden Plate Award given by the Academy of Excellence, the Preservation Hero award given by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Capital Award of the National Council of La Raza, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Non-Violent Peace Prize, the President’s Medal of Georgetown University, the NAACP Spingarn Medal, the National Education Association Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award, and the only John F. Kennedy “Profile in Courage Award” for Lifetime Achievement ever granted by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
“In recognizing the passing of this outstanding man within a few hours, of another spiritual colleague, Rev C. T. Vivian. These two men have joined with Martin Luther King, as the members of his glorious band of martyrs. – May their souls rest in Peace!” concludes Mr. Patterson.