Thread by @benwikler

Okay, time to drop whatever you're doing and watch @BarackObama eulogize John Lewis. twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

If you worked in politics or activism in DC (or GA or almost anywhere) in the last three decades, you probably crossed paths with John Lewis—and perhaps, like me, you couldn't help but ask him to take a picture with you. Here's mine, from a 2017 rally against health care repeal.

You should also read—or listen to, there's an embedded audio player—Lewis's final op-ed, published today. Let it challenge you. Ask yourself what you're doing with your life.

nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opi…

"...a man whose faith was tested again and again, to produce a man of pure joy and unbreakable perseverance: John Robert Lewis." – Barack Obama

"...a battered prophet. 'Now,' he said, 'more marchers will come.' And the marchers came. And the troopers parted. And they reached Montgomery."

A righteous, Biblical telling of the story of John Lewis and the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

"He liberated all of us. ... America was built by people like that. America was built by John Lewises."

"When we *do* form a more perfect union—John Lewis will be a Founding Father of that fuller, fairer, better America."

"If we want our children to grow up in a democracy—not just with elections, but a true democracy, a representative democracy, a big-hearted, vibrant, inclusive America of perpetual self-creation—then we're going to have to be more like John."

"If politicians want to honor John, there's a better way than by a statement calling him a hero. If you want to honor John, then let's honor him by revitalizing the law that he was willing to die for."

https://twitter.com/grace_panetta/status/1288900231103381507

"All those young people"—leading protests nationwide this summer—"John, those are your children."

"God bless you.

God bless America.

God bless this gentle soul who pulled it closer to its promise."

Here’s Obama’s eulogy. nytimes.com/2020/07/30/us/…