Thread by @jonallendc

I’ll never forget two things about the first time I met @repjohnlewis back in 2003. 1/x

The first is how powerful it was to stand next to a man whose fame came from the combination of the righteousness and effectiveness of his actions rather than winning election, making money, performing on screen, hitting a ball or simply being born to the right family. 2/x

I had read about Mr. Lewis and watched documentaries on the civil rights movement in which he was one of the key figures, but it suddenly struck me how different he was because the glory he pursued was that of God and country — better mankind and a more perfect union. 3/x

Yes, I probably understood that at some esoteric level before I shook his hand and introduced myself to ask a question about some mundane story of the day that I have long since forgotten. But it was like a lightning bolt of full realization in the shadow of his quiet dignity 4/x

Here was a man who had done something so important — and so selfless, and so just, and and with such strategic and tactical effectiveness, not to mention patience and perseverance — that I had never met anyone like him and probably never would again. 5/x

The second thing I remember is that he called me “brother.” 6/x

He has called me “brother” every time I have spoken to him since.

He calls men “brother” and women “sister.”

7/x

That first time it hit my ears — John Lewis calling me “brother” — it was the most inclusive word I had ever heard. He had fought so hard so that he and I would be seen under the law the way our founders said we were created, as equal, and I had done no such thing to earn it. 8/x

I couldn’t consider myself his equal in any terms other than those of the Declaration: “all men are created equal.”

But those are the words he fought to make true — with his “sisters” included — and by calling those around him “brother” and “sister” ... 9/x

he confers upon all of us the dignity of equality and conveys an unstated expectation that we will treat others as brothers and sisters. He didn’t fight for more power or rights than his neighbor. He fought for equality, and his use of the word “brother” crystallizes that. 10/x

Here is a man who walks this earth as an example of how we can more faithfully live up to the declarations of our founders and the creator to whose grace they attributed the inalienable rights of mankind.

May Brother Lewis walk this earth for many years to come. 11/11.