Thread by @EllaMcC

John Lewis' funeral is on in every room in the hospital. #3LivingPresidents are there - all but one... guess who?

@GWBLibrary George W. Bush is speaking now. @BarackObama @POTUS44 will speak later. (Not sure about @BillClinton ) But President Bush is speaking beautifully (and told a funny story.)

President Bush is tying John Lewis to the past as well as the present, including @BarackObama, and he's talking about how "differences of opinion are the inevitable elements of democracy in action." BEAUTIFUL!

"The story isn't ending today, nor is the work." -- GWBush #JohnLewisfuneral

And here comes @BillClinton President Clinton... #JohnLewisfuneral #JohnLewisMemorial

"He was here on a mission that was bigger than personal ambition." @BillClinton #JohnLewisMemorial #JohnLewisfuneral

"...seize the chance to end racism." said John Lewis when others told him to be more careful with his words.
@BillClinton #JohnLewisMemorial #JohnLewisfuneral

"There are some things that you can't do or you won't be who you are anymore."
"He had the kind of character he showed when he lost an election."
@BillClinton #JohnLewisMemorial #JohnLewisfuneral

@BillClinton mentions the trademark trenchcoat & backpack -- and the backpack's contents: two books - to feed his mind & soul, and food/toothpaste/etc to take care of his body. He knew he'd be arrested. Why? Because John Lewis believed in the future. #JohnLewisMemorial

"John Lewis was a living rebuke...he worked for and lived for his beloved community."
"He lost the backpack, but what it represented never disappeared from his spirit." @BillClinton #JohnLewisMemorial #JohnLewisfuneral

"Sometimes you have to walk into the wind to get through it, but no matter what John always kept walking to reach the Beloved Community." @BillClinton #JohnLewisMemorial #JohnLewisfuneral

nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opi… @BillClinton "On the day of his funeral, he leaves us our marching orders" #JohnLewisMemorial #JohnLewisfuneral

"Keep moving, keep moving in the right direction... and he did it without hate in his heart... Keep moving to the voting box, even if it's a mailbox, and keep moving to the Beloved Community... Always believing none of will be free until all of us are equal." #JohnLewisfuneral

@BillClinton #JohnLewisMemorial #johnlewisfuneral
"I suggest we salute, suit up and march on."

Now @SpeakerPelosi is up

"John convinced each one of us that we were his best friend" -- @SpeakerPelosi #JohnLewisMemorial And they brought the flag.

"He took us to Selma to many times." "He wanted us to see how important it was to understand the spirit of nonviolence" @SpeakerPelosi #JohnLewisMemorial (She hesitates to speak about this b/c of the giants in the room.)

"He insisted on the truth wherever he went, and he insisted on the truth in the Congress of the USA every time he stood up to speak."
"He insisted that he would insist on the truth."
@SpeakerPelosi #JohnLewisMemorial

"One country, one destiny" -- this was sewn into the lining of #AbeLincoln's coat the night he was shot. (She thinks he had it on all the time.) @SpeakerPelosi is breaking down as she speaks, multiple times. #JohnLewisMemorial

Comparing and tying Abraham Lincoln to John Lewis - Always move toward a more perfect union.
@SpeakerPelosi #JohnLewisMemorial

"He was a bit mischievous" says @SpeakerPelosi "We thought for a minute the police might...it was a bit disruptive... but it was clear that if the police arrested John Lewis, they'd have to arrest the entire democratic caucus." #JohnLewisMemorial

"He loved to dance; he loved to make us laugh... He said, 'They asked me to sing solo one time - so low that nobody could hear me'." @SpeakerPelosi #JohnLewisMemorial

There was a double rainbow over his coffin, and it hadn't rained. He was telling us he was home now...and he can rest in peace. @SpeakerPelosi #JohnLewisMemorial

Entire church stands for Reverend James Lawson, who is starting as soon as the clapping stops #JohnLewisMemorial

"When I die, I will see the lining of this world...the true meaning, ready to be decoded..." poem "meaning" by polish poet Wislawa Szymborska quoted by Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"One day we can stand up to the true meaning of these United States." "John Lewis practiced the politics of the Declaration of Independence & the politics of the Preamble to the Constitution" -- Rev James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"Most of the books are wrong about John Lewis"
Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"It was not an accident.... "As MLK called it... love has power and if we use it we will change the world in which we live." (I'm sure this is not an exact quote) "We did not plan it but we were all led there." Rev James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"If there was to be another act, we would have to do it ourselves." Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"Nobody thought about desegregating downtown, tearing down the signs... It was Black women who made that decision." Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"I was scared to death... John Lewis did not stumble in..." He was invited, "as we prepared ourselves to face violence. The segregation of the nation had to end."
Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"We need to get the story straight" -- we need to call it by the right name, "because words matter" Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"All the stories we've heard about John preaching to chickens... something else was happening at that time. John saw the malignancy of racism...and he had to do something about it." Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"Stop the horror." "John was not alone, MLK saw it too. I saw it in Ohio..." [We all had the same experience] Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"We recognized the horror under which we were forced to live, and we had to do something about it. This must end. #BlackLivesMatter " Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

Now he's talking about headstart and billions of dollars for affordable housing. Medicare. Antipoverty programs -- so much came before the #VotingRightsAct" Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"We need the Constitution to come alive... so that every baby born in these United States has access to those words" Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"We will not be quiet as long as any child dies in the first year of life, we will not be quiet as long as women and children are the poor, as long as the nation is the most violence... Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

...as long as our economy is about domination and control rather than access and liberty and equality for all." Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

"Do not let our hearts drink any of that poison... Drink the truth... on the continuing journey to dismantle the wrongs..." Reverend James Lawson #JohnLewisMemorial

Reverend James Lawson ends with a poem from Langston Hughes about a dream "where all will know sweet freedom's way, where greed no longer saps the soul nor avarice blights our day..." #JohnLewisMemorial

OK Reverend James Lawson is just amazing - watch it if you can when it's recorded (my typing can't do him justice.) #JohnLewisMemorial

Reverend Warnock is speaking now at Ebenezer Baptist Church -- reading a letter from President Jimmy Carter #JohnLewisMemorial

Kathleen Bertrand is singing If I can help somebody... I can't tweet this amazingness #JohnLewisMemorial

anyone have a kleenex? Kathleen Bertrand #JohnLewisMemorial

Oh wow! Xernona Clayton just walked up to speak! #JohnLewisMemorial She thanks the media, and now she's going to talk about John Lewis before he became famous.

She's telling a story about creating dating opportunities by taking care of someone (and how to take care of your friends...her friend was Lillian.) There was more than one woman in that hospital room... -- Xernona Clayton #JohnLewisMemorial

Hilarious - they planned the wedding & had a wedding, then wondered if John had ever asked Lillian. "We just had a wedding!" - Xernona Clayton #JohnLewisMemorial

Lillian didn't like politics, but when John expressed an interest, she did everything - everything - for his success. (my comment: another strong woman behind a successful man.) - Xernona Clayton #JohnLewisMemorial

"I'm 4'11" and they tell me almost 90 years old, and I'm supposed to spank John Miles? - I'll spank him, whether you like it or not." - Xernona Clayton #JohnLewisMemorial

"I asked John, 'what is bad trouble?'" "John said, 'good trouble is when you find a way to right the wrongs of our society' and he did a pretty good job of that." - Xernona Clayton #JohnLewisMemorial

"That's not a public relations program you're watching. That's the story of a man who lived the life he wanted it to be... Do as much as you can as often as you can for as long as you can." - Xernona Clayton #JohnLewisMemorial

"Don't sit and listen.... Do something... be kind, love everybody, speak up and speak out.... VOTE" - Xernona Clayton #JohnLewisMemorial

Just as an aside, they are being super careful w/ the microphone, everyone is wearing masks, wiping down the podium, etc. - (former) Mayor William Craig Campbell is up #JohnLewisMemorial

(sorry, I have to find another patient's room real quick to hide in...) - #JohnLewisMemorial

Virtually every news organization has hailed John as a civil rights hero, but john was a women's rights hero, a gay rights hero, a children's rights hero... Mayor Campbell #JohnLewisMemorial

"one of the great transformative freedom fighters of human kind." Mayor Wm Craig Campbell #JohnLewisMemorial

In the final days of his life, John pulled me close and whispered "everyone has to vote in November. It is the most important election in our lives." Mayor Wm Craig Campbell #JohnLewisMemorial

Jamila Thompson is speaking, she was on the Congressman's staff, and she is wearing two masks because "John Lewis would say, Be Particular." #JohnLewisMemorial

"He is just as you may imagine, but better, and no day was ever the same." This is going to be a great speech too. Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"In college we often say there's the freshman 15, but we had the John Lewis 20" Apparently he wanted to share everything, including every meal. "We were a little family... He welcomed our parents, our children, our friends....into the nest." Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"We were a well-oiled machine in terms of policy... but he liked to stir things up." "Oh no Congressman, you're not gonna get me today." She will miss his real laugh (not the TV one) the most. - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"He could outwalk the entire staff, so our duty was to keep up. When it was time to move, we did, but when it was time to slow down, we preserved the sanctity of his space." - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"He didn't hire based on a resume but your potential"
"He got all into our business, and was there in spirit or in person for the big moments."- Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"In the same way that he always took a call from Mrs. Lewis or John Miles, he let us drop everything when necessary.... but always always always vote. No excuses." - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

She names three staff that served the Congressman for over two decades. (I missed their names.) & MANY who served for nearly that. "And then there were the staffers who couldn't really leave. He kept pulling them back." - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"Make it plain, make it simple. Make it sing." - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"His memory was like a living encyclopedia." "He expected us to be informed with facts - from PRIMARY sources."- Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"When he asked you a question, he usually knew the answer, but he wanted to know if you could represent him and his constituents." - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"Have you read this poem, this speech, this reading?" - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"He hated to miss votes. Let me say that again, he hated to miss votes. Offers gratefulness to his proxy so Mr. Lewis could be safe AND STILL VOTE during the pandemic." - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

I'm not sure what a Georgia Coke is (I'm from baltimore) but it got a laugh. - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"The constituents were our compass, and Mr. Lewis worked around the clock to find solutions." "It was the actions and the results that mattered." "Not every problem needs a bill, and he could always find compromise without compromising himself." Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

I love that: "He fought to find compromise without compromising himself."

I honestly can't do justice to this perfect speech from Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"I ask you as we sit in this historic space, we need to know and study our history to make sure that we never repeat it."
She asks the staff and former staff to stand: THEY LOOK LIKE AMERICA! - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"I don't think there are many offices where you can hold your boss's hand and tell everyone that you love them." - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

"So if asked how to honor him, make sure that his message lives on.. be kind, be mindful, recognize the dignity of every human being... and VOTE" - Jamila Thompson #JohnLewisMemorial

John Lewis's niece, Sheila O'Brien is speaking now. #JohnLewisMemorial

She thanks everyone, but she wants to pay tribute to the man. "He is known as Robert" to his family. She calls him "Uncle Robert" He was brother to everyone: "Too many siblings to name now, we don't have the time" -Sheila Lewis O'Brien #JohnLewisMemorial

"Many are called, but few are chosen." Be sure, John Lewis was Chosen. -Sheila Lewis O'Brien #JohnLewisMemorial

"He was known as the Conscience of the Congress... he defied stereotypes... he made time for everybody and he was always photo-ready." -Sheila Lewis O'Brien #JohnLewisMemorial

"It is evident why his life is being celebrated at this magnitude." "He was willing to lay down his life for a good cause." "let's not give up, let's get in trouble, #GoodTrouble" - Sheila Lewis O'Brien #JohnLewisMemorial

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Guess what - it's morningtime." -Sheila Lewis O'Brien #JohnLewisMemorial

Reverend Warnock is introducing @BarackObama He tells us that John Lewis wanted @BarackObama's signature, and Pres. Obama signed it "Because of you" to John Lewis. Jennifer Holliday is singing Precious Lord then @POTUS44 will speak

(This is my favorite song for funerals and most days during 2020, actually... Precious Lord is sung a lot in my apartment.) Jennifer Holliday is singing Precious Lord then @POTUS44 will speak #JohnLewisMemorial

But damn, I can't sing like no Jennifer Holliday #JohnLewisMemorial

She adlibs "Lord we need you right now, we got a world that's in sorrow Lord, we don't know what's gonna happen... hold us in your unchanging hands. We need you Lord...take my hand, Precious Lord, and lead - Lord we need you right now...." Jennifer Holliday #JohnLewisMemorial

@BarackObama @POTUS44 starts with a quote from James "You know that the testing of your faith requires perseverance..." #JohnLewisMemorial

"I've come here today because I, like so many Americans, owe a debt to John Lewis and his perseverance." He's talking about us all doing the work that remains to create a more perfect union. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

"Mentor to young people, including me - at the time." @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

"John was born into modest means. That means he was poor." @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

"Once you learn something, no one can take it away from you" John's mother taught him. She nurtured his curiosity. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

He heard these things on the radio about nonviolence and protest - "John Lewis was getting something in his head." @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

Speaking both beautifully and powerfully about the degradation people tried to put on them as they desegregated the south - "they sat with straight backs and didn't let it get to them." @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

Before the official Freedom Rides, John Lewis and Bernard Lafayette refused move from the front seats. It was unsanctioned. But they refused to move, despite having nobody there to protect them. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

Imagine - they were kids, younger than Malia - like John the Baptist preparing the way, John Lewis did not hesitate to speak truth to power on a mission to change America
@BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

"He was warned that gov wallace had ordered troops to use violence, but he led the march anyway." @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44 (more about the backpack & contents)

Sometimes we read about this, but we forget that this was dangerous and real. "He was full of purpose despite his small stature. God put perseverance in this creature. They knelt to pray which made their heads easier targets." @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

Victims in their own country of State-Sponsored Violence. I imagine that day the troopers thought they'd won the battle... that they'd preserved a system that denied their fellow Americans the dignity of being treated like everyone else. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

They were not asking for special treatment - just equal treatment.
When he woke up he was persecuted but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed... @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

The marchers reached Montgomery and their words reached the White House, and Lyndon Johnson said We shall overcome, and #VotingRightsAct was signed into law. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

That most American of ideas: that any of us without wealth or title or fame can point out the imperfections of this country and challenge the status quo... until it more closely aligns with its ideals. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

Imagine: a young kid from Troy said "no, this isn't right. We can do better." On the battlefield of justice, these many men and women liberated all of us - these things we've taken for granted. America was built by people like them. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

He as much as anyone in our history brought this country a little bit closer to our highest ideals - @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

Even if it takes another two centuries, John Lewis will be a founding father of the fairer America @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

Despite this storied, remarkable career, he treated everyone with kindness and respect, because it was innate to him, this idea that ANY of us can do what he did if we possess the spirit of perseverance. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

So many of us lose that sense. It's taught out of us. We start feeling like we can't afford to extend kindness or decency to other people, that we're above other people and looking down on them... @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

But John always saw the best in us and he never gave up because he saw the best. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

He knew that we have not yet reached that blessed destination where we are judged by the content of our character... Bull Connor may be gone, but... @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial @POTUS44

George Wallace may be gone, but... there are those in power who are doing their darndest to [make sure we can't vote], even undermining the Post Office... @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

I know there are those who say we shouldn't talk about it here, but that's why I AM talking about it. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

As long as we have breath in our bodies... if we want our children to grow up in a true democracy, a representative democracy, a big wide tolerant inclusive America, we have to do something, we have to keep on. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

"Just everybody's got to just...come out and vote."
@BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

Make the powers that be uncomfortable. We don't have to choose between politics and protest. It's a both-and situation. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

Like John, we've got to vote even harder for the right to vote. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

By the way the #VotingRightsAct is the product of BOTH Democratic and Republican politics. It is one of the crowning achievements of our democracy. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

But one the SCOTUS weakened the #VotingRightsAct ... what happened "is not necessarily a mystery or an accident" "it is an attack on our most basic freedoms" @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

"You wanna honor John, let's honor him by revitalizing the law he was willing to die for." #VotingRightsAct @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

By the way, naming it the #JohnLewisVotingRightsAct is fine, but we can't stop there...." Obama is ON FIRE - watch this speech @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

Give Americans in DC and Puerto Rico the right to vote. If it means eliminating the filibuster, another Jim Crow relic, then do it! @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

The central strategy is voter suppression is to make you discouraged, to make you doubt your own power... We can't casually abandon voting. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

We have to treat it as the most important action we can take - this election is the most important, and like John, we have to give it everything we can. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

"John, I'm here because of you." @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

He believed in us, even when we don't believe in ourselves. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

He could not have been prouder of this new generation. All those young people, John, of every race, religion, gender and sexual orientation, they are your children, even if they didn't always know it. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

Those great wells of our democracy were dug deep by the Founding Fathers. We see it outside our windows in big cities & small towns, in Blacks who long for equal treatment & whites who can no longer witness the subjugation of their fellow citizens. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

Real progress comes from not hating each other and sowing division, but by spreading peace and love. By discovering that in the Beloved Community, we do not walk alone. @BarackObama #JohnLewisMemorial

Right, I'm in tears, and I've got to work, but these speeches are worth viewing if you get the chance. Especially.. well everyone. #RIPJohnLewis #VoteForOurLives #JohnLewisMemorial

@threadreaderapp please unroll